


Angel With A Shotgun

by lucidrebel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 120,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3313580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidrebel/pseuds/lucidrebel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sanctioned Archangel, aka Xora Xion, is the mysterious agent with a blank past who will do anything for the sake of her Empire. She thrives in the shadows, but her expertise is tested when she embarks on a mission that takes place in the grand city of Paris, France.</p><p>There, she meets the legendary agent Levi, who happens to know more about Xora than she of herself. Though he is a dangerous man, whose specialty is to kill and deceive, Xora is strangely compelled to him, tempted to abandon the safety of her isolation to close their distance.</p><p>Through this dangerous mission, Xora meets many individuals who change her life - people who she may come to call her friends. But in an unforgiving world like hers, making friends can become a mistake. Falling in love can be a death wish. She must navigate the cruel world flawlessly; even the smallest of mistakes could mean death. Perhaps not only her death... but the death of those she holds dear.</p><p>The success or failure of this mission could determine the demise of the entire world. Does Xora have the power to change not only her fate, but the fate of the world itself?</p><p>I do not own SnK/ AoT in any way. All rights go to Hajime Isayama.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Code I: The Test

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Thanks so much for reading my story. I've put a lot of work into it. This title was inspired by a song called Angel With A Shotgun by The Cab.
> 
> xx
> 
> \---
> 
> She's an angel with a shotgun,
> 
> Fighting 'til the war's won.
> 
> She don't care if heaven won't
> 
> Take her back.
> 
> She'll throw away her faith, babe,
> 
> Just to keep you safe.
> 
> Don't you know you're everything she has?

"Codename XX," the man behind the desk spoke, his deep voice reverberating and resonating throughout the cold, dank room. It consisted of soundproof walls and little furniture; nearly everything was made of thick meal. It was room only meant for rendezvous.

"Sir," the woman clipped briskly, kneeling on one knee and bowing her head. Her aquamarine eyes flashed dangerously. Long strands as dark as night framed her pale face, casting shadows over her mysterious expression.

"Prepare to present your capabilities. I will observe and decide whether you are to take part in his mission."

"Are you indicating to  _that_  mission, sir?"

His blonde head moved ever so slightly in a nod. The woman nodded and stood, bowing before exiting out of the five-centimeter thick metal door. She entered the next one down the dimly lit hallway, revealing a training obstacle course. First, a thin wooden beam was set over a pit of piranha-infested water, large blades suspended from the ceiling swinging across constantly with gleaming edges designed for slicing. It looked like something out of a movie.

Next, there was a forest of wooden stumps with spikes attached to each and every part jutting out, the stems maneuverable so they could spin in place. The next obstacle was designed carefully - a chamber with no ventilation, where poisoned air was to be released from small dispensers. Inside it was cluttered and disorganized with heaps of obstacles, making it nearly impossible to get around before you passed out from the lack of fresh, clean air.

Fourth, there were twenty-five different moving wooden human silhouettes with red and white targets painted in middle, sliding around on small beams. One-hundred meters away was a rifle with only twenty-five bullets, the sleek design made for sniping, scope perched sturdily on top of the weapon.

And last, the final feat: there was a sea of flames, foot-wide slabs placed one meter away from each other, floating around in the muck. As soon as the smallest pressure was applied, they were designed to crumble and sink. Along the way, arrows drenched in a fatal poison would shoot out from different machines inside all four walls.

The entire course in itself was truly more a test of survival than a test of skill. But such was to be expected with the path the woman planned to tread.

The woman narrowed her eyes and readied herself, pulling her left leg back and hunching her shoulders to allow herself to blast off with ease. She wanted - no, she  _needed_  to go on this mission. There wasn't even the slimmest chance for failure; she had to be on her best instincts.

A buzz crackled on the intercom as it was turned on. From somewhere, the man was watching carefully.

"Ready," he said, loud and clear. The woman's muscles became tense. "Start."

The woman shot off, sprinting for the single beam wide enough for only a single foot. With extreme agility, she speeded across the thin piece of wood. The gigantic blades headed constantly for her flesh, but with her flexible body, she elegantly dodged each and every one by ducking, swerving to the side, and even flipping to the other side of the beam whilst hanging, suspended, with only with her hands. At the end of that pit she jumped up onto the edge and continued onwards to the next obstacle.

She charged straight into the wooden objects and agilely dodged each swinging piece of wood that came at her. The spikes swiped dangerously near her skin, daring to leave even the smallest scratch, but every time, she easily dodged the strikes and continued onwards.

When she emerged from that section, she was immediately thrown into the other. She slipped into the room, the door shutting by itself and locking with a loud  _click_. Her previous training paid off as the slow  _hiss_ of the deadly gas went off; she'd spend a lot of time training her lungs to prolong her body, diving deep into the Atlantic Ocean without any gear whatsoever.

She sealed her lips and cut off her air supply, beginning to swiftly swerve around the heaps of clutter. Trash mountains piled high cut off her chances of quickly climbing them - so instead, she dove through the crannies and easily slipped through them with her rather small but muscular frame. A mere minute and a half passed and she was already an arm's reach away from the exit. It was nowhere near her four minute limit; she easily pushed the door open without any time to waste.

Next was the shooting range. The woman rushed over and heaved up the heavy gun, closing her right eye and focusing her left in position in front of the scope. For a few brief moments, she paused, eyes trained on each and every wooden frame that slithered from side to side. Then, in less than a split second, she fired only one bullet.

The kick of the gun jerked her arm back, but the rest of her body stayed rigid and poised. Smoke wafted from the wooden frames; they were all exactly, perfectly aligned, with one bullet hole going straight through the exact middle of every single target. Satisfied, the woman set down the gun and sprinted over to the pit of death.

With a strange expertise, she leapt off the edge and onto the first slab of fragile rock, only the tip of her boot landing on the small piece. She momentarily brushed against it then fired off again, flipping in the air towards the next. Left behind, the rock crumbled to dust and disintegrated into the lava-filled cavern. The woman landed on the next slab and in the blink of an eye had already left it again, traveling from rock slab to rock slab, each and every one crackling away as she twisted in the air, poisoned arrows whizzing past, some only a hair's breadth away from touching her.

Finally, she reached the edge and landed gracefully on the finishing pad. She let out a deep breath and dusted off the front of her skinsuit. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, one she wiped away with a black gloved hand.

The intercom crackled again and the man's voice announced, "You may return."

The woman turned and walked along the half-foot wide border of the obstacle course, eyes drilled only ahead to where she was going. She exited the door and returned to the original office where the man still sat patiently behind his desk. In front of him was a hologram of a scene depicting the obstacle course the girl had just completed.

"With all due respect, sir," the woman articulated, kneeling in front of the desk again with her head down, "I must be a part of this mission. I  _mus_ t, and I do sincerely apologize for my insolence. But to deny me this opportunity is to deny me my right as an agent of the IE."

"First things first," the man said quietly. "It is to my knowledge that you realize this mission is dangerous, correct? Dangerous to the high possibility of no return. We are dealing with the Empire's worst enemies."

The woman nodded. "Yes, sir."

"It's secrecy is very high with the most utmost importance, and the chances of winning against the enemy are slim. It could end similarly to what happened on mission O-17. I'm sure you recall O-17 clearly?"

The woman's lips pulled into a grimace, the lines of her furrowed brows deepening. She gave the man a stiff nod. "Every detail, sir," she muttered briskly.

"And even knowing these details, you are still highly set on going? A friendly reminder that this is halfway across the world, where if there are reinforcements needed, they will not arrive as soon as needed. The IE headquarters there are surpassed by our home base. Your best back-ups to survival all lie on this continent."

Not a moment of silence passed before the girl answered, "Yes, sir. I am determined to go, no matter what the circumstances."

The man nodded in amusement, the corners of his lips twitching into a small smirk.

"I see," he mused. "Very well, then." A couple of tense moments passed before he spoke again. "I would like to inform you that you are to be assigned to the mission. Your performance was phenomenal as per usual, and I believe you will bring success to this mission."

The woman let out a breath of relief and nodded her head. "Thank you, sir!" she thanked.

"You may leave as of now."

The woman stood and headed out the door again, this time walking down the corridor in the opposite direction. The metal hallways had a blue tint to the walls, everything completely made of a shiny steel. In the direction she headed, there was a vast room at the end. Her boots clicked dully against the floors with prim, brief sounds.

Finally, the woman emerged upon a large room, people bustling about the many tables of confidential, advanced technology. People dressed in identical, black uniforms walked about, many donning tiny radio pieces in their ears. Without a glance anywhere else, the woman went straight to a young man sitting behind a clean, organized desk, his blonde hair hanging around his face as he stayed completely focused primarily on a document on his hologram. Upon the woman's arrival he glanced over, eyes brightening when they landed on her.

"XX!" he greeted, standing and taking off the glasses from the bridge of his perky nose. His frame was lank and skinny, his height quite short compared to the other agents he worked with.

"Hello, Armin," the woman responded with a slight nod of her head.

"How'd it go? Did you make it?"

With a solemn expression, the woman nodded her head. "Quite well, surprisingly, even though I did feel very anxious. I very much so am going." A smile grew on Armin's face.

"I knew you could do it!" he chirped happily. "You're in our top one percent, after all."

"I don't believe my place in our social structure would've helped much in my situation."

Armin chuckled in amusement. The woman was never one for sweet words. "Are you excited?"

The woman shot him a curious glance. "Why, of course I am," she answered indifferently. "I'm buzzing inside, in all honesty."

"You don't seem like it!" Armin laughed. "I mean, I know I would be. This is France! Halfway across the world! What an opportunity!"

"I'm not doing it just because I want to, I desperately  _need_  to go."

"But why? It's just a mission. Plus, I heard the captain of it only asked for the top agents to go because it's going to be a troublesome mission. Commander Erwin assessed you, correct? Then that means he also considers you the best of the best!"

The woman shrugged. "Irrelevant reasons," she spoke nonchalantly. "I mean, the captain is supposed to be rather aloof and hard to work with too... or so I heard. Joining a team will be an extremely dramatic change from my usual solitary assignments."

"Oh, come on!" Armin insisted. "Everybody needs help. We have to  _all_  work together. Since you probably won't know anyone, let me introduce you."

The woman gave him a confused look. "How are you going to introduce me if they're in France, and we're in the IE headquarters?"

"Come here." The woman followed Armin behind his desk, where he showed her his computer screen. Patiently, she watched as he booted up the system, the screen flashing to life. The arrow moved across the screen to the millions of files Armin kept on his computer. One thing the woman acknowledged about the timid, frail boy was that he was a genius, especially for his young age. His intelligence nearly matched with the Commander, leading to him being a very important figure in their organization.

Armin's large, curious eyes danced across the screen as multiple windows popped up until the folder he was looking for appeared on the wide screen.

"Ah," he murmured, "here it is." He clicked on the folder and up popped a file with three documents, a picture attached to each one. Upon the opening of the first one, a picture of a teenager boy with shaggy chestnut hair emerged along with a long description of him. His round, emerald eyes were bright and quite interesting, as they seemed viridescent and almost a turquoise shade.

"This is Eren Yaegar," Armin said with a small grin. "Although he has very short of a temper, we're very good friends, and I know for a fact that he's very reliable. He's one of the main subordinates directly under the Captain's command.""

Next came a picture of a very cheerful looking woman with ashy brown hair, her bangs parted in the middle with the rest tied up into a sloppy ponytail. Perched upon her broad nose were thin wire-framed glasses, shielding chocolate almond-shaped eyes.

"This is someone who works directly under Commander Erwin, just like the captain of the mission," Armin pointed out. "Her name is Hanji Zoe. She's quite serious about what's necessary for the good of all humanity - though you should know that she can be a very... er, eccentric person. She's super enthusiastic about observing our rival organization; or as we the IE call them, the Titans."

The woman let out a small scoff. Armin shrugged and pulled up the last file. It was a picture of a man who looked like a child whose expression was stuck in a pout, with gunmetal eyes that looked even colder than ice and dark hair.

"This is the captain," he explained. "His name is Levi. He will be the person you'll probably work with most, because after all, he's the person who's leading this mission."

"He's the person who requested for this mission to be created and put into action, correct?"

Armin nodded grimly. "Exactly."

"Do you know the details? Commander Erwin did not relay them to me. All I know is that it has to do with the famous Louvre museum in Paris, France... and that we will likely be dealing with the Titans."

He shook his head. "No," he answered. "I'm afraid I can't answer that because I'm not attending the mission. I can't even take the test now, because I heard the time of your leave is supposed to be - " The explanation was cut short as the loudspeaker crackled once again, the Commander's voice coming upon loud and clear. Everyone in the room froze, each person pausing to listen to what the most important speaker had to say.

"Codename XX," the low voice spoke. Immediately, hundreds of pairs of eyes went straight to the woman. She straightened and stole a quick glance at Armin, whose eyes met hers with a bright flash. "The jet has finally arrived. Prepare yourself for takeoff." The loudspeaker went off with a  _beep_  and everyone returned to their usual tasks.

Armin sneaked her a smile and flashed her a thumbs up, mouthing, "Good luck!" She nodded in return and pivoted, walking towards a clear chute of an exit. The two front panels of it slid open, and the woman took a step inside, turning to face the room. They slid shut and the small pod began to move upwards, heading higher towards the Earth's surface.

Finally she emerged upon the ground, where the bright sun glared down upon her. Unmoving, she waited until the panels slid open again and she stepped out, heading for the large jet in her presence.

"Let's do this."  

 

 

 


	2. Code II: Our Mission

**[f]**

As the woman approached the jet, the entrance hissed open and out jumped a figure. The figure raced up to her and nearly glomped into her skinny frame, but she twisted to the side and let the figure crash face-first into the cement.

"Oof!" the figure cried. The woman stared down warily at the figure until they stood and patted themselves off, turning to her. She recognized the figure as Hanji Zoe, one of the main captains who worked alongside Commander Erwin. In person she was much taller than had been expected.

Behind her, another person came bounding out of the entrance. The woman recognized him also as Eren Yaegar, the one Armin had said was a good friend of his. The manner in which he carried himself was strong, though humble.

"Sorry!" the boy apologized, bowing his head lowly. "Hanji is very open to meeting new people. Please excuse her rude manners."

"Rude manners?" the woman repeated, glancing at the genius. She looked exactly as she had in the picture Armin had showed her; the same glasses, the same brown hair styled in the same ponytail, and the same glittering eyes.

"I'm Hanji!" the woman greeted, holding her hand out to the agent. She took it and shook it firmly before quickly releasing her hand and clasping hers together behind her back.

"Codename XX," the girl introduced in return. Eren let out a loud gasp as his eyes lit up, wide in awe.

" _You're_  XX?" he repeated. "As in,  _the_  Codename XX?"

"'The?'" The girl furrowed her brows. "These labels definitely don't sound pretentious at all."

"No, no," Eren clarified, shaking his head. "I mean, you're Codename XX, also known as the  _Sanctioned Archangel_!"

The agent's brows twitched. She'd been called that many times before in her past years at the Iridescent Empire. Apparently, it'd become a nickname, though one she didn't necessarily have a care for. Because no one knew her actual name, one she kept confidential from even Commander Erwin, they called her by her codename or many of the other wild nicknames they had come up with.

"I'm labeled as such, aren't I?" the woman muttered with a sigh.

"Whoa!" Hanji gasped, straightening and adjusting the position of the glasses that sat perched upon her broad nose. "You're so cool in person!" Glitters of admiration shone in her eyes, reflecting the glare of the sun in her irises. The agent sighed and shook her head, trudging towards the jet's entrance without so much as a backwards glance for the other two. They followed closely behind, chattering softly to themselves.

The woman realized that the two were certainly a couple of the IE's most experienced agents, especially since they worked with the IE's rumored best agent - said to be worth that of an entire army of Alpha-ranked agents. The corporal.

In the Iridescent Empire, the ranking went by five different classes by which one could work their way up through intense training, completion of ranked missions and exams. The Epsilons, or preferably called "fresh meat" by the others, were the starter agents, categorizing those who who had just begun their journey in the very complex organization. Though they were simply starters in the Iridescent Empire, they were still of high intelligence and physical ability when compared to the normal human.

Then, next came the Deltas, who were a small step above the Epsilons, yet were still treated like "fresh meat." The only real differences laid in the fact that the Deltas were able to move around more freely and independently.

Afterwards were the Gammas. That was the position very many people stayed in; at that stage, the training became much, much more vigorous and straining on the human body. This was the largest of the five classes. Not many were able to sustain the rigorous effects once in training for the next stage: the Betas.

The Betas were the second highest position in the standard agent standing, most of whom barely inched past the training after reaching a Gamma rank. Many of the Betas had simply lucked out; a very select few actually plunged through with brutal force and spirit, and earned their positions with their own power.

And finally, the highest standard rank in the IE: the Alphas. There were only a few different agents whom had climbed up the long, fatal ladder themselves with extreme perseverance, talent, and skill. These agents were the most highly regarded of all, and had only attained their ranks because of a personal recognition from Erwin himself. Those people were specially sent on missions only issued personally by Commander Erwin, who was on the top of the entire pyramid.

In between Erwin and the Alphas, though, stood a few particular individuals, like Hanji and Levi.

But, the woman herself was on an entirely different level. She surpassed that of an Alpha far beyond any measure, with much more physical and with mental experience than just about any of the agents working for the IE. Rumors blazed through the headquarters like fire, raising many questions from the others years prior, when she had been quickly advancing up upon the ladder of the ranks.

Had she used any kind of drugs to stimulate herself?

Had she bribed or blackmailed the Commander into issuing her a higher rank?

Had she hacked into the system to change all of the information about herself?

The fact that she never revealed any personal information or background raised suspicions even more, the oddity of the rumors skyrocketing. Thus, these things led to leaving her as isolated as could be amidst the bustling Empire, many shooting her dirty looks of jealousy, others often of fear in cowardice for her rumored skills and talents.

Hence, it all came to borne the nickname, "The Sanctioned Archangel." It was one of the many people had cleverly came up with: The Bloody Diamond, Crimson Slayer, Undaunted One, and many more to come. Still yet, the Sanctioned Archangel seemed to stick to around like a storm to destruction.

Despite all of the rumors, the girl had managed to meet at least a few individuals who hadn't a care for what lies circled around. For example, Armin Arlert, one of the genius hackers of the IE, was able to befriend her nearly instantly. He was a kind, gentle boy who tended to be quite timid and shy for his age. He was the type to befriend all people, given the ability to speak to the girl freely without giving her any thoughts of an ulterior motive.

"Archangel!" Hanji chimed, slamming her hands onto the girl's shoulders. "Are you listening? Eren and I were going over our plans for when we arrive at France."

"My apologies," the girl answered, bowing her head as the trio boarded the jet. "I was just caught in my thoughts. Also, if possible, I'd like you to call me by my codename, please. Nicknames such as mine aren't necessary, especially when on a mission ranked beyond that of an Alpha's."

"Oh, come on! Just relax. Well, we'll speak in a bit, but I'm going to talk to the pilot briefly about takeoff. Eren, you take the little lady to the lounge." The boy gave an enthusiastic nod and Hanji left them alone to walk to the front of the jet. Eren turned to the woman and flashed her an excited smile.

"This way!" he beckoned, pivoting.

Eren took the girl to the central section of the sleek black jet, turning once they reached the long section of taupe, cushiony benches and seats. Luxury was written everywhere; from the gourmet deli bar holding delectable, steamy dishes to the long, red carpet embellished in a glittering gold lining the long aisle.

"This is where we'll all hang out until we reach France in a bit," he explained, gesturing to the entire compartment. The woman took quick, brief glances all around the compartments; her aquamarine gems flickered as they read every detail. Moments later, loud roaring filled her ears and the jet lurched forward. Hanji appeared by the door, sliding it open with a wide grin on her face.

"Okay, we're taking off," she chirped, making her way to one of the plush chairs and plopping down. The woman followed suit, taking a seat right across from the older scientist.

"If you have the knowledge," the agent requested, "would you please relay to me the details of our mission?"

"Hm? Erwin didn't tell ya?" Hanji replied, to which the agent shook her head. "Of course I can. Eren?"

The girl waited patiently as Eren joined Hanji's side, holding a large manila envelope, which she took and placed on the glass table top stationed between the two of them.

"Anything in particular you would like to know first?" Hanji asked with a quirked brow, observing the mysterious agent with wide, curious eyes.

The woman responded with a curt shake of her head, eyes mysteriously peering straight ahead with an unsettling conviction. Hanji was a tad amused and rather shocked to see such a young agent an have such a fire burning fiercely in her eyes.

"Okay then, Archangel," Hanji said, drawing a wad of documents from the envelope. "Let's start at the Louvre, one of the most famous museums in France positioned in the city of love: Paris. As you probably already know..."

She slid over a black-and-white snapshotted photo of an elegant, old painting. It was the portrait of a woman downed in an onyx, sweeping dress, her obsidian hair tumbling down her back in miniscule waves. Her complexion was pale, almost translucent, an indifferent expression plastered onto her face. The background took place in the scenery of rural country, massive rolling hills, the rushing waters of rivers, and the sparked peak of mountains in the very distance.

The Mona Lisa.

"The Mona Lisa is held there," the girl murmured, her mind whirring to memorize every detail of the ancient painting. She recalled any prior knowledge and made a mental note to pay attention to everything she knew.

"Yes," Hanji continued with a nod. "The original Da Vinci. Anyhow, recently, the Louvre has been apparently been 'running low on funds.' Money is getting harder and harder to scrape up after people are losing interest in the arts - or so they say. So, the Louvre released a competition - a very dumb one, if you ask me - stating that their biggest sponsor in the next few years, possibly decades, would receive the painting as a gift of thanks."

"Who would give away such a significant piece of art just on a whim?" the agent inquired, furrowing her brows.

"Exactly. That's not all; big, filthy rich figures and companies alike have gone insane, donating millions, even  _billions_  of dollars to the Louvre just for the Mona Lisa. Why they are so willing to possess this piece, I'm not quite sure. Yet, one by one, the sponsors who were in the top of running for the painting have been eliminated."

"Eliminated? As in...?"

Hanji closed her eyes ominously. "Killed. The CEOs of companies have been slaughtered, along with some of the richest people living in this world."

Xora paused for a moment, gulping inaudible. "Who is responsible?"

"That is one of our many jobs: to find and take care of this serial killer." Hanji opened her eyes and her voice dropped even lower. "In fact, we believe that someone in the Louvre's industry is conspiring with a forbidden organization."

Xora pursed her lips. "But once this painting gets taken, what will happen?"

Eren's expression darkened. "It'll get sold into the black market," he cut in, "where it'll be circulated over and over to the point where it's almost impossible to get it back."

"Exactly," Hanji said with a nod. "This mission is confidential and highly dangerous - there's no doubt we will have to get into a scuffle of some type at least a few times. Only the best agents specially selected by both Commander Erwin and Levi have been chosen to go because of their specific skills and the fact that international danger, such as terrorist groups, could be involved. The risk of our mission has a chance of becoming discovered, and then plotted against without our knowledge. If it does..." She paused to slice one of her fingers around her throat mockingly.

Gravely, the agent nodded her head. It had a very high chance of being a repeat of mission O-17, the fateful day she knew she regretted the most of all. Hanji handed her a sheet with the list of multiple suspects, as well as a list of potential "Titans."

"Keep that as you search for clues," she instructed. "Memorize it. As soon as you can recite each and every name clearly, burn that. Even better, eat it."

The agent nodded again in understanding and took the sheet, folding it up to stick in her chest pocket. The atmosphere seemed to change when Hanji let out a low sigh of relief and fell back into her chair.

"Enough of that depressing talk!" she spoke, flashing a cheerful smile. She paused for dramatic effect. "Archangel, tell us about yourself. What're your skills? Favorite color? Birthplace? Anything." Eren nodded in agreement, enthusiastically leaning forward to urge the girl on.

"That information I'd like to keep undealt with," she deadpanned, uneasily shifting in her seat. She wasn't used to so much attention from others. "Small, petty details such as those are not important. If it is really necessary to know, then I will just say that I am quite the fan of gray."

Hanji's brow quirked at the unusual answer and the corner of her lip twitched. "Gray? Why such a bland color?"

"I don't believe it's 'bland,' I think it's a color that can show utmost elegance, whether compared to a pitch black or a pure white. Along with being quite fascinating, it shows a steel intensity I admire as such."

"Hmm... interesting," Hanji mused. "You're very strange, Miss Archangel. You're not what I thought you'd turn out to be, but... I like you! You're  _better_  than I assumed, actually."

Eren smiled. "I agree," he said with a nod, "you're quite interesting!"

The agent shrugged. "This is off the topic of myself, but I'd be very interested to know the whereabouts of our captain?"

"Oh,  _that_  shortie?" Hanji chortled with a dismissive wave. "Don't worry about him. He said he didn't have the time to 'put up with shitty work.'"

Xora's lips downturned in a small frown. "But isn't this mission of utmost importance?"

"The mission, yes. But, you see, Levi isn't the type to be very... social. At least, the  _real_ him."

With a yawn, Hanji stood and stretched out her sore limbs, her hands nearly brushing the low ceiling of the jet. "Anyways, I'm pooped, so I'll leave you and Eren to do whatever you younguns wanna do. Me being the grandma I am, I'm gonna take a nap! Even Levi's only in his twenties, but he acts way too old for his age. Bye~!" She winked and bounded out of their compartment, a slight mischievous spring in her step. This left the agent and Eren in a slightly awkward silence, only the sound of the jet zooming through the sky filling their silence.

"So," Eren started slowly with a small, sheepish chuckle. "You're in your early twenties, right?"

The woman nodded. "Correct."

"Wow! And you've already surpassed the Alpha rank?"

"It's not that much of a big deal. And you, Eren? How old are you?"

"I - I'm only sixteen. I joined the IE when I was twelve, so I haven't really had  _that_  much experience."

The woman nodded in understanding. "And you're already a Beta, I presume?"

Eren gave the woman a shocked look. "H - how'd you know?"

She replied with a nonchalant shrug. "A lucky guess, we can call it."

Eren gulped and nodded slowly, averting his gaze away from the intimidating woman. In his presence, she seemed to overpower him at every circumstance possible; even just one stolen look at her built frame sent shivers down his spine; she was definitely not the regular human being.

"Say, Archangel," he spoke. "When did you surpass the Alpha rank?"

"When I was about fifteen," she answered. Eren sucked in a sharp breath and snapped his fingers.

"Oh, so close! That's only a year after Captain, then."

"Captain? This man named Levi... when did he join the IE?"

"Erm, I'm not sure. Actually, I don't think even Hanji is sure. I'm not sure if there's anyone in existence besides Erwin who knows. He's just so... unreadable."

The woman's eyebrow twitched inquisitively. "Unreadable? What do you mean, 'unreadable?'"

Eren chuckled behind his hand and gave her a small wink. "...You'll see."

 

 


	3. Code III: Fleur De Lis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronounce Xora as "Sora" and Xion as "Zee-on." [:

Merely a few hours later, the haphazard trio arrived at a private runway in France. The roaring of the jet engine was subdued as they drew in the long stretch of land, their speed slowing to a stop. Once it was okay to get off board, they each dismounted the jet and let their feet touch the ground once again.

At first Eren was a bit put off balance, his knees wobbling and his head slightly reeling. Hanji, on the other hand, was prancing around and hugging the trees with much affection, her appreciation for the solid ground increasing tenfold. The girl, unlike the others, was completely stone-faced, her expression clearly unfazed as she walked over to the dark car that awaited their presence.

Once Eren and Hanji had calmed down, they followed suit, getting inside the vehicle alongside the girl and settling in comfortably into the faux leather seats. They each buckled their seatbelts with a series of clicks, each gluing their eyes to the windows as the scenery began moving, the car driven by a chauffeur who also worked with the IE.

"So, Archangel," Hanji chirped from the front seat. "Ya been to France before, or no?"

"No," the girl answered with a shake of her head. "This is my first time."

"Quite wonderful, then! There's much to see in such a city like Paris. Of course, we're not there now, but when we arrive, I can't wait to give you a tour!" Her statement was deemed true as only the country side whizzed by the windows, rolling hills and acres of crops covering the land as far as eye could see.

"Ah, yes, but I do think it would be more suitable if I met our Captain first?"

"You don't want to meet him," Hanji corrected. "You have to, but you don't want to. And after you do, you'll wish you hadn't."

"Erm, Hanji-san?" Eren stammered from the backseat. "Is it really alright to speak about Heichou that way?"

"Oh, yes, yes," Hanji said dismissively. "Don't mind the lil guy. I only speak the truth, anyways, trust me."

The girl simply quirked a brow and averted her attention back to the blurry landscape, leaning her shoulder against the cars door while attentively staring at the rare land. Back at the IE, she spent nearly all of her time indoors, constantly training and studying up to keep her intellect sharp at all times. The only times she'd ever go outside were if she were to depart on a mission, or go and complete errands and favors for those who had asked them of her. She practically lived at the IE.

After some time of a slightly awkward silence, buildings began to seep into view, getting taller and taller as they drove on, as well as getting more intricate.

"We're arriving at your destination," the chauffeur informed the three, braking the car in front of quite an elegant building.

Its body was a milky white color, marble columns decorating the entrance and nicely groomed yard. It had a vintage feel to it, the designs on the windows and frames of all sorts bringing about the Parisian feel. Inside the pristine glass windows, an intricately carved chandelier could be seen dangling from the ceiling. Its flat roof towered high, a few floors leading upwards to the partially gray sky cloaked in a fluffy blanket of clouds.

"Mercí," Hanji thanked the chauffeur, unlatching the door open and climbing out. The girl and Eren followed her example and stepped out into the French air, breathing in the strange scents so different than America. "We're here!"

"I haven't been here, well, since this morning," Eren sighed. "Oh yeah, I forgot to say, Archangel. Hanji and I came to greet you this morning on the jet. Commander Erwin had sent for us really early in the morning so we'd make it in time for your departure."

The girl nodded, but really, her mind was wandering elsewhere.

'This morning?' she wondered, making sure to keep all her confusion away from her physical actions. 'But I had only taken the test at noon. Why did Commander send for them so early in the morning when we weren't even sure if I was to go or not?'

She was jolted out of her thoughts as they made their way over to the large double doors, both the same pasty white as the house with beautiful designs painted around the knob and few windows donning the middles of the doors. Hanji curled her fingers around the form of the silvery handle and twisted it open, a cool blast of air hitting the trio as what seemed like tense air from inside escaped.

Happily, she bounded inside and kicked her boots off, throwing her dark tan jacket randomly on the smooth, tiled floor, squares of a deep navy blue.

"Leeevi!" she sang, lifting up her glasses to prop them up on her forehead. She ran a hand through her ashy brown strands and loosened her ponytail. "We're hooome!"

Her voice echoed around the vast room. It consisted of two pearly white staircases starting at both ends, trailing upwards until it met in the middle with a little balcony. A long hallway in the middle led off to many more rooms, many of which displayed things to make it seem like a regular home or building in the city of Paris.

The girl glanced around; searching for the dark-haired man Armin had shown him with the name of Levi. She found nothing and asked, "Is our Captain to meet us?"

"He should be here," Eren explained, "although he's probably in the middle of sleeping."

"At this time? It's nearly four in the afternoon."

"Who the hell said I was sleeping?" a snide voice cut in, resonating from the balcony above. Everyone's attention shot up immediately to see exactly who the girl had been searching for: the Captain, Levi.

"Heichou!" Eren greeted with a wave. "There you are!"

"No, I'm fucking sleeping," he called back down sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He was much shorter than the girl had expected, but it did not make his spitting image any less intimidating than those cold, sharp eyes or that deep, empty voice. "What the hell took you two so long? You were to be back by three."

"Sorry!" Hanji apologized, though her tone indicated she meant nothing sincerely of it. "We just had a slight problem while we were boarding back in America."

"It took you long enough." He clicked his tongue and began making his way down a prim staircase, the heel of his sheeny black shoes clicking against the marble. He was dressed in a way the girl had not expected at all: a pure black tuxedo with a crisp, white colored shirt under, a slightly puffy cravat wrapped around his neck rather than a bowtie.

"Levi, why're you dressed so nicely?" Hanji asked, confusion evident in her voice. The girl raised a brow, caught by the fact that not only Hanji sounded clueless, but it looked true on Eren's contorted face also.

"You'll see," he answered, cobalt eyes flickering over to the heap her shoes and jacket laid in. "Pick that up, shitty four-eyes."

"I'm too tired~!" Hanji yawned, stretching her arms again. "Besides, you haven't even noticed our new companion yet?"

Levi's eyes simply skimmed over the girl, their gazes temporarily meeting. At the sudden moment, unease flared in him, and he was tempted to recoil in what felt like an electric shock. She could feel it too - there was something about this man that set her at unease, working up the suspicion already piled in her gut.

"Ah, you're Codename XX," he mused, raising a brow. Then he turned his back to them, casting one last disgusted look at Hanji's discarded clothing. With a white gloved hand, he beckoned over his shoulder to the girl. She glanced around, confused, before pointing to herself with a puzzled look.

Eren quirked a brow and nodded, gesturing for her to follow him. "Go on," he insisted. "Levi's gotta speak to you in private."

"And note," Hanji chimed in, "'private' doesn't involve in sexual contact!"

Eren held in a snicker while the girl couldn't understand the reason he was laughing, but she shrugged and followed Levi predominantly, unable to simply stand while the other two secretly traded jokes she couldn't get the gist of.

The girl followed Levi down the long corridor in between the two staircases, partially unaware of the mischievous two still muttering incoherent words about her.

The long hallway was filled with many oil paintings, each a portrait of what looked like important figures in France. Under every frame was an identical, ebony three-legged table with a matching vase set atop, orange lily's decorating the vases.

'The Stylized Lily,' the girl thought, 'the official flower of France.'

Beneath her feet was a long roll of red carpet, the print of the Stylized Lily dotting the maroon color, its edges frayed yet showing a somewhat elegant look, completely reflecting the feel of the building. Above every ten feet or so was a miniature chandelier, made to look exactly like the extra large one in the lobby Eren and Hanji were possibly still hanging around.

Levi took a sharp turn into a doorway, the girl rapidly slipping inside before closing the door with a click behind her.

He trailed to a large cherry wood desk, its rich, deep brown top with reddened tints piled neatly with stacks of organized papers. The entire desk, actually, was perfectly put into place. The writing utensils were separated into little containers off to the side; a stack of papers sat next to a small pile of manila envelopes and folders. A thin Mac laptop was closed at the moment, centered in the very center of the dark wood. Set on the right-hand front corner was an exact match of the vases in the hallway, including the same flowers.

"Oi," Levi said, sitting on the front edge of the desk while keeping his torso faced towards her. "You, come here."

The girl sucked in a large breath and stepped forward, ending up right in front of Levi's presence. His eyes slid up and down her figure, taking in her skinny silhouette. She wore the uniform black jumpsuit of the IE, the spandex fabric like a second-skin, clinging to her body in ways that were comfortable yet sleek. Hidden compartments in various places of her body allowed her to keep things hidden from view without looking too conspicuous.

'Those eyes,' he thought. 'It's those eyes.'

The girl's eyes glittered iridescently, the glittering cyan color like a warm and sunny day to end in a raging storm. It somehow offset him from his comfort zone, despite the fact that it was partially hidden by her long ebony locks, its links tumbling down her shoulders in dark strands.

"You're Xora Xion," he stated blatantly, not shifting his eyes from hers. She seemed caught off guard by the use of her name so nonchalantly.

"Yes," she answered, "but, with all due respect, please do not use my name when we are around others. I'd like to be addressed with my Codename as much as possible if it could happen, please. If I may ask, how do you know of my real name?"

"I have my ways."

Xora stared hard at Levi, trying to figure this strange man out. How had he known about both her last and first name so clearly, when it was so well disclosed even Erwin hadn't known? Furthermore, Levi seemed like a put off person, someone who didn't deem things worthy of his presence, be it a thing with a beating heart or not.

"Aside from that," Levi continued, "we're to begin our mission tonight. I suppose Hanji has filled you in?" Xora nodded in response, though she was a bit surprised to find that they were going to start the mission so early. Usually she had a few days to get soaked into her new environment. "Good, then I don't need to go over shitty details with you. Tonight at the Louvre they are to host a party for a few people we deem Titans. We're to attend that party and collect as much intelligence as possible. It's not what you think would be your regular party - it's supposed to be very 'luxurious' - meaning you must wear a disguise."

"Disguise? I apologize, Captain, but I suppose you know of my skills already?"

Levi arched a brow, but a glint in his eyes showed he was not entirely telling the truth; Xora could see it in that cold slate. "No," he answered, "the only things I found out were your name and your Codename."

"Ah, then shall I explain?" He nodded for her to go on. "I usually tend to work undercover; the missions I go on are generally either theft missions or a Counter Espionage mission, where I turn around the tide in destroying plots and imprisoning any Titans, enemies of our IE. I generally work in secret, so I usually don't go out in the field conspicuously, meaning I didn't bring any other equipment with me besides gadgets and tools."

"That was quite fucking dumb, in my opinion," Levi said, tilting his head. "Shouldn't the Sanctioned Archangel come prepared for a mission?"

Xora was taken slightly aback by such a blunt captain, but she quickly regained her posture and wavered off the insult, leaning forward in a quick bow. "My mistake, Captain," she apologized, straightening her back.

"We'll leave that alone," Levi scoffed, clicking his tongue. "Good thing I prepared a dress in advance. I knew you were to come - but in case you hadn't come prepared, I did it ahead of time."

"Ah, thank you."

"It's upstairs in Hanji's room. I expect you to go and try it on for tonight. You will be my companion to the Louvre; Hanji and Eren are going to monitor the security cameras of the museum from here, where Hanji will hack into the major system."

"Understood."

A few moments of silence was set between them, but was dispelled as Levi plucked a Lily from the vase on his desk. He gently held the olive stem between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand and brought it close to his face, closing his thickly-lashed lids as he took a breath of the delightful scent.

"Another note..." he remarked. "Fleur de lis."

The French accent on his tongue rolled off smoothly like velvet, the sound heard as if it were designed to be spoken by his rumbling voice. Confused, Xora cocked her head. "Pardon?"

"The Stylized Lily," Levi continued, cracking open his eyes to observe the orange petals. "This... this is our main clue."


	4. Code IV: Seraphina Godric

Merely ten minutes layer, Xora was standing in Hanji's bedroom. It was much, much bigger than Levi's apparent office, and even more grand than she had expected, especially with someone of such eccentric personality.

There was one large king-sized bed sitting in the middle of the vast room, beige sheets and blankets with many different patterns slightly ruffled sitting in small heaps on the bed, the pillows bordered by small strings of fabric. Its four posts towered upwards to a silky chestnut fabric canopy, the material sinking at the center from its lack of support, though it only casted a very elegant feel.

For the careless person Hanji had displayed, her room was actually very neat and organized. Either that, or a certain someone had sneaked in while she was gone to greet Xora to fix a large mess.

Pushed up against the opposite wall was a large desk, two jam-packed bookcases filled with information surrounding the light oak wood desk. Several filing cabinets, also filled to their brims, stood next to the bookshelves. A very, very large stack of papers and folders sat on Hanji's desk, most likely information for the IE.

Beside that pile was another one of instead rolled up papers, each secured by a small thread of knotted string. A container of many writing utensils was placed next to it, most likely for drawing up plans and coming up with ways of executing them with utmost efficiency.

On the right wall was a large wardrobe hinged in bright copper, next to a vanity table, sophisticated designs carved straight into the slightly faded wood. The mirror was perfectly glazed over with a sheen of polish, everything reflected in it perfectly clear and eligible. There was almost nothing on the table, except for a small bottle of eye drops and a kit for cleaning glasses.

'Typical,' Xora thought. 'Hanji never seemed like the type to wear makeup.'

Her eyes flickered over to the dress that was laid out unavailingly on the bed.

Its main color was of a deep, obsidian shade, the bodice consisting of something shaped like a corset with barely noticeable purple stripes running down the sides of the interlocking silver chains, designed beautifully. The skirt that flared out from the high waistline came out in tiered ruffles alternating in black and white. They flared out much more than the last layer as they fell, turning into posh lacey edges.

Another thing Xora noticed was that the sweetheart-shaped neckline was in fact strapless, but a slightly puffed arm accessory that would be worn near her underarms would look as if they were straps, only brought lower to the sides. Ribbons would secure them to her arms. Along with those straps would come a pair of inky black gloves, its hem reaching only her wrist, its end flaring like the ruffles of her skirt and also secured with a long, silky black ribbon.

A pin that would be worn in her hair were lace ruffles, a mauve flower pasted on the top with ribbons also trailing from the artistically done style.

Xora sucked in a sharp breath. In truth, it was the first time she'd ever worn such a fancy dress. Its fashion was so magnificent and bewitching; it seemed impossible to look decent on her. She nearly jumped when the door burst open, the room's owner bounding inside with an excited smile.

"Archangel!" Hanji chirped, rushing over and grabbing Xora's hands with her own. "You're going to  _la balle_  with Levi, aren't you?"

Xora nodded in return, her eyes returning to the dress that laid patiently on the bed.

"How wonderful!" Hanji winked mischievously. "When Levi's in action, that's when you'll find out why I said he was really not a person you'd like to screw around with. It's kind of scary how he works, even!"

She spun Xora on spot and pulled her over to a full-body mirror that stood primly on the other side of the wardrobe, its glossy glass glazed over with a shiny varnish that kept it forever free of dust.

"Let's see," Hanji mused, "your hair should be kept down. Those locks of yours are gorgeous, didja know that? Also, I'll try to keep your makeup minimal. Your face is perfect, anyways."

Xora stared at herself in the mirror silently as the older woman rambled about her plans on her appearance. For an agent, she never really worried about her appearance; the only thing there was time to worry about was staying safe and in secret. When nobody saw you, it didn't matter what you looked like.

Hanji teetered on her feet excitedly, a small squeal leaving her lips. "Archangel, I'm so excited for you!" she cheered. "Of course, Eren and I will be back here, monitoring  _le balle_ , but you and him get all of the action!"

"It's simply a mission," Xora noted, going back to the dress. She picked it up gently with her left hand and took even closer inspection to the details. It seemed much more fragile in her hands than it had looked as it was laid out in front of her. She took to running her finger tips along the material, the satin shuffling beneath her touch.

"It's beautiful, huh?" Hanji commented coming up behind her. "Levi ordered that. I suppose he's told you that already; it was premium ordered for about five thousand Euros ($ **6883** )."

"Isn't that a tad too much for one simple occasion?"

"Nope! Levi always wants the best, and  _only_  the best."

Hesitantly, Xora nodded and went back to the mirror with the dress, placing the silky fabric atop her own body to measure out if whether or not it would fit on her slim frame.

"I honestly do not find the need to wear something as fancy as this," she sighed, lowering the dress.

"Oh, come on!" Hanji cheered, taking the piece from Xora's hands. "This is a gala. You're  _supposed_  to dress fancy! Especially if it's being hosted at somewhere as famous at the Louvre. There're going to be less than a hundred people there because it's a private party, so don't worry much. Most definitely, a majority of them will be millionaires looking to view the 'Mona Lisa,' lots of who are participating in the competition."

Xora grimaced. "Alright," she said. "I'm not very familiar with these types of clothing, but I will attempt to the best I can to wear this dress."

Hanji handed the dress back to her and she was directed to a door in the corner of her large room. Immediately Xora raced over and shut herself inside, desperate to get away from the very pushy woman. She flipped on the light switch and swiveled her gaze around, taking in the view of the very elegantly built bathroom.

Everywhere, she could see porcelain - the sink, the Jacuzzi, the shower, the toilet - just everywhere. Though there was a lot, the bathroom was constructed in a way that made it seem very luxurious. The floor was made in a tile of cobalt blue, similar to the one in the lobby; golden strands embroidered the sink as decorations, adding a hint of posh to the varnish.

Without a second's hesitation, Xora slipped off her jumpsuit easily and folded it into an organized wad, where she placed it on the counter next to the sink. She took a final deep breath and pulled on the dress, taking a glance at herself in the bathroom's gigantic mirror.

At the sight of herself in such a beautiful dress, Xora nearly gasped. The fabric sat against her hips snugly as if they were made to fit her body to the exact measurement. The curvy form fit her shape perfectly, the dark colors contrasting against her pale skin to make it look even more ivory than it already was. Quietly she turned in the mirror, taking in her strangely mystical look as the fabric shuffled lightly against her skin. It felt quite satiny and sheer, the material much lighter and frumpier than that of her jumpsuit - it also exposed so much more skin than what made her comfortable, but the outfit was needed for the mission, thus being the only reason to convince herself into wearing the dress.

Xora swept her dark hair to her left shoulder where its sleek strands cascaded down in deep black links. She finger-combed her fingers through them, separating them thoroughly without many problems.

After another quick glance in the mirror, Xora grabbed her suit and slipped out the door and resumed Hanji's presence. The brunette was sitting at her vanity table, fiddling around with newfound makeup products and various jewelry pieces of different gems and colors.

"Ah, Archangel!" Hanji greeted as she noticed the other girl approach here. She stood and patted the cushioned seat with a large smile. "Come sit!"

Reluctantly Xora sat down on the chair and faced herself in the mirror, setting her suit on the table. Thinking Xora's skin tone looked flawless and pale enough, Hanji got to work, choosing neutral eyeshadow palette with very light browns and tans shown in powdered form. She took a small, fluffy brush and dusted it on the lightest taupe color, sweeping the shade across Xora's closed eyelids as a wash.

"On this mission you and Levi are going to have disguises," Hanji explained as she worked, "which means everything - and I mean  _everything_ \- about you two are going to be completely fake."

Satisfied with the extra light pigments on Xora's lids, Hanji set down the palette and grabbed a small compact of a black powder and took a sharply angled brush, taking on some of the black powder and applying it close to Xora's lashline.

"His alias, or pseudonym, is Rivaille Godric," Hanji continued, flicking her wrist to elongate the fuzzy line. "Yours is going to be Seraphina Godric, the wife to Rivaille Godric. I told Levi I preferred Sonny and Bean, but that little squirt said no."

She gave a light shrug and moved onto Xora's lashes. Taking a lash curler, she crimped the Archangel's lashes until they were perfectly uplifted and perky. Then she took a small tube of a mascara and twisted it open, the thick bristled brush coated in a thick layer of the formula. Hanji instructed Xora to glance up before she began to run Xora's already-luscious lashes with the wand, lathering it on in a few coats to ensure their dramatic effect.

"You're fluent in French, yes?" Hanji asked.

"I know some," Xora answered, "but I'm not fluent. I can understand most words easily, though I am not as skilled at it through tongue."

"Ah, that'll be fine, as long as you understand. Levi will be doing most of the talking. Just never leave his side and stick with him so any unnecessary misunderstandings can be avoided."

"Understood."

When Hanji finished with Xora's eyes, she continued onto the rest of her face. She took a pale rose blush and brushed the powder on a very large brush, sprinkling the color on Xora's cheeks evenly. Once her face looked lively enough, Hanji finished off with her lips. She used a shiny gloss with a sheer pink tint, glazing Xora's small, carved lips over with the sticky liquid.

Once Hanji finished, Xora looked at herself in the mirror. She was caught by surprise; her face was nearly unrecognizable. Even though many of her features were left untouched, it seemed as if it were an entirely different person in the mirror. Her large, bright eyes seemed even larger and brighter. The mascara made her lashes look long and darker, adding a nice touch to her strange and mysterious eyes.

"And now, for the finishing touches!" Hanji chirped, picking up the designated accessories from earlier off the vanity table. She pinned the laced flower and ribbons to her hair, bringing up a few strands as she went. The brunette handed Xora the pair of gloves, indicating for her to put them on while she trotted over to her closet and grabbed out a simple pair of ankle-strapped obsidian heels.

"These are your shoes," Hanji indicated, holding them out to the refined girl. "They're not too high - only three or four inches - so you should be able to walk in them just fine. Now, stand so I can see my masterpiece!"

Xora took a large breath and slid her feet into the heels, the height a bit strange compared to her usual flat-heeled combat boots, but she managed to clip on the black straps correctly and stood. She clasped her gloved hands in front of her waist and straightened her back perfectly, her hair tumbling down her back in their fine strands.

"Do I look appropriate?" she asked.

"You look... you look..." Hanji tittered. She grabbed Xora's hands and sprung on her feet lightly, bouncing from side to side. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Archangel!"

Xora nodded. "It's all thanks to you, Hanji. Now, shall I be going?"

Hanji looked over a the giant grandfather clock seated next to her large bed. "Oh! Yes, yes, you should! Levi should already be waiting downstairs. You know how to get down to the lobby from here, right?"

"I should manage just fine."

Xora bowed her head in thanks and exited Hanji's room, her heels barely being held up by the stern carpets. She glanced around the grand hallway she stood in, the same mini chandeliers emitting soft glows down the row of windows, Stylized Lilies in the vases lining the hallway just as it had for the corridor down Levi's office.

Quietly, Xora made her way down the hallway, which led to the balcony that overlooked the breathtakingly beautiful lobby. She glanced over the edge and spotted Levi leaning with his back against the wall by the door, his arms crossed. He was dressed in the same dark black tuxedo suit, his small frame a bit more broad than expected. Instead of a black bowtie around his neck, he wore the same cravat - which seemed almost like a signature feature he had.

Eren stood beside him, jotting down a few notes quickly in scrawled handwriting on a clipboard, his eyebrows furrowed as his mind worked furiously to decode several things.

Xora unintentionally stared at the black-haired man curiously, taking in his form. Unfortunately for her, Levi glanced up at the girl with his cold slate eyes, their gazes locking momentarily. In that moment, Xora felt something like an electrical shock run through her mind again. She had the reflexive urge to recoil and clutch her head in pain, but instead she kept her face stone hard and started towards the staircase.

Hanji's borrowed heels clicked with every step Xora took, the sound resonating lightly through the vast space. It drew Eren's attention and his head snapped up, eyes widening as they landed on the girl's new, altered form.

"Miss - Miss Archangel?!" he stuttered, nearly dropping the pen. A light pink dusted his cheeks as he fumbled to catch it and stick it back on his clipboard. "Is - is that  _you_?"

"The one and only," Xora answered, landing on the tiled floor. She smoothed out her dress and brought her hair to her shoulder again. "This outfit is appropriate, correct?"

"It looks fine," Levi interjected, eyes flickering up and down the girl's body. He observed every inch and curve on her body, making sure everything was clean and in place. "Shitty four-eyes takes a long time to do  _everything_. Eren, tell her the details."

Levi himself was wearing a dark tuxedo with no wrinkles present whatsoever - or any flaws. Though it fit his small frame well, the hems seemed a bit loose and less tight-fitting than the rest of the garment. His hair was slicked back loosely with some gel, a few bumps here and there peeking out but only skyrocketing his attractive appearance a hundred-fold.

"Yes, Heichou!" Eren responded, turning to Xora. "I'm sure Hanji already told you about your aliases. You both are going to collect information and gossip within the groups. Almost everyone attending this party is a competitor of some sort in the Louvre's competition; the competition itself is sure to be most of the talk floating around. Speak with many of the competitors and befriend as many as possible. If anyone asks, both of you are from Versailles and have come to take a look around Paris's architecture. Rivaille is an archaeologist who studied very deeply in the arts of the  _Château de Versailles_ , and it interested him enough to actually come and take a look at it in person. There he met you, Seraphina, a fellow arts appreciator who loves anything to do with old arts, thus leading you both to a long-termed love relationship and the Louvre."

After the long explanation, Eren took a long, deep breath. "Got it?"

Xora nodded. "I suspect I won't be doing much of the speaking," she said thoughtfully, turning to Levi.

"No," he answered briskly. "Unless someone directly asks you a question, do not speak. If you do find the need to, add an accent to your voice and change its pitch, otherwise I will usually speak in your place. We need to disguise every aspect of our identities."

"Yes, sir."

With a sigh, Levi twisted the coiled handle of the door open and pulled it open, waving his hand to indicate for Xora to exit. Waiting on the darkening lane of the street was a elongated, deep black limo.

"Are you ready to leave,  _mademoiselle_?"


	5. Code V: Canon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if my translations are not correct! They're really rough, but I tried my best!

Xora gave Levi a curt nod as she exited the wide door frame, him following quietly after shutting the door. Together in silence they made their way to the limo, Levi again holding the door open in courtesy for the girl. She climbed inside quietly and Levi followed suit without a single word.

Once seated inside, their chauffeur began driving immediately, the limo jerking forward lightly. For a few moments Xora only expected silence, but was met with a brief conversation.

"Here," Levi said, his hand outstretched to the girl seated directly next to the black-haired man. Xora glanced down and saw a small black device in his scrawny fingers. "This is a communication device that works for all four of us, including shitty four-eyes and Eren. Put it in your ear."

Xora took the small gadget out of his hand and jutted it inside her right ear. "Eren should've been bait," Levi sighed, inserting a communication device inside his own ear, "but we got stuck with this damned job."

Xora was about to speak up until the radio crackled to life, Hanji's blaring voice screaming to the girl. "Archangel!" a mechanical voice screamed. "Can you hear me? Can ya? Can ya?"

The girl flinched in pain as she tore out the small item out of her ear, accidentally ramming her shoulder into Levi. He clicked his tongue disdainfully and scooted closer to the window, having heard the outburst through his own earpiece.

Grudgingly, Xora pressed a tiny button placed on the outer wall of the device and shoved it in her left ear instead.

"I can hear you," she said, sighing. "The volume was a bit too loud, though." Hanji's giggling could be heard through the much more suitable mediocre sound.

"Sorry!" Eren's voice apologized. "I was the one who programmed it with the help of a friend of mine, Armin. I guess I accidentally forgot to adjust the volume controls!"

"I'll survive."

"Sorry 'bout that," Hanji's voice piped up, a slight distinct ruffle being heard on the other side. "Bad, bad Eren."

"Ow - Hanji-san, please, I - !"

"No, no, you're training to become an Alpha, right? Consider this as training~!"

"No, please, Hanji-san, I - OW! Ah, that hurts - !" Even more rustling could be heard through the earpieces. Xora shifted uncomfortably in her seat and glanced over at Levi, who only shrugged his shoulders lazily and sighed.

"Keep your hands off of him, Hanji," Levi said in a gruff voice. There was a certain low edge to his voice that sent Xora irregular vibes, almost immediately drawing up different suspicions about the barely older man.

Little crackling filled the device, then Hanji's voice powered on again.

"Anyways," she said, "once you get there, there should be two security guards blocking the entrance. To get into the party, visual presentation of an invitation is required. I took the time to hack into their system and print out a copy of one, replacing the blanks with Levi's alias."

On cue, Levi plucked a faded sheet of paper out of the inside of his crisp suit, holding it so Xora could see what was printed on the invitation. The paper was very elegantly embroidered with maroon spirals and curves, staining the yellowed parchment. She nodded once she read through its lengthy details and Levi pocketed it once again, resuming his stance of staring out the blackened window.

"After you get past the two big guys, mingle and mix within the crowd in the ballroom you should enter," Hanji instructed. "Remember, our main goal tonight is to collect intel and find as many possible leads as we can. Get to know some of the competitors for the Mona Lisa; but do not, and I mean absolutely  _do not_  get your cover blown. If you have any questions or info, don't hesitate to inform the rest of us at any time because these radios are continuous. We need to stay updated on each other as much as we can."

"Understood," Xora briefed, soaking in all of the tense information like a sponge. She had to be on her highest instincts; despite this mission, she was also on the lookout for information - information that had nothing to do with the Mona Lisa or the IE itself. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed out the folds of her dress and placed her hands together on her lap.

The rest of the car ride was filled with silence, the only sounds coming from the earpieces as Hanji and Eren chatted around casually with each other.

Soon the Louvre came into view.

It was a gloriously constructed building with intricate and gorgeous architecture, the way the white lighting hit the building against the night sky nearly throwing Xora into a trance as her eyes laid upon the posh museum. Right in front of the entrance was a glass pyramid held together by a maze of metal bars; it seemed like a truly too beautiful structure to belong on Earth.

Levi clicked open the door and shut it with a small slam before circling around the limo and pulling Xora's door open, motioning for her to leave the vehicle. Calmly but a bit more clumsily than usual, Xora clambered out of the limo and Levi shut the door behind her, holding out his right arm. She was a bit perplexed at the gesture - was she supposed to link arms with his and join him on a beautiful night in a museam?

'Of course,' she thought to herself, gently weaving her arm into his and holding onto the stiff fabric of the suit. 'This is a mission. We're husband and wife; we must do what couples do.'

"We've arrived," Levi breathed into the earpiece, making the smallest sound he possibly could as many over important guests also left their own means of transportation, some trailing behind them.

"Alright," Hanji said. "I can see you guys heading towards the entrance. Oh, you two look so cute together!"

"Shut the fuck up."

The two quietly approached the entrance of the museum, the chiseled steps perfectly shaped and formed even after hundreds of years of seeing turmoil.

Just as they had predicted, two large, bulky security guards dressed in matching tuxedos, sunglasses and cords weaving to radio devices of their own guarded the entrance with a sinister presence. They stood with authority and crossed arms, beady eyes from behind their dark visors eyeing every single living being in sight with such a fierce intensity, it could make a child cry.

Once Levi had reached the two men, they peered at the rather shorter man above their sunglasses.

" _Appel d'offre_?" one of them voiced in a low, gruff tone. With his free hand, Levi nonchalantly reached inside his inner breast pocket and pulled out the invitation once again, handing it over with his face set like stone. [ **Invitation?** ]

The security guard on the left snatched it up and unfolded it with clumsy, sausage-y fingers and lifted up his sunglasses, looking down at the tiny font with his small eyes. Over his right eye was a white scar, indicating a past fight that showed he was not a force to be reckoned with.

After a brief of the entire paper, he nodded and stepped to the side as the other guard did, gesturing for entry.

"Entrer," he sighed. Levi nodded in thanks and Xora simply stayed silent, her eyes locked on the way ahead as they entered the glass doors, following down a grand hallway decorated with hand-crafted ornaments before taking a sharp turn to the left and arriving in a grand ballroom.  **[Enter]**

Xora was taken aback at the fact that such a grand scene could live on the face of the planet; it seemed much too grand and much to exquisite.

A small group consisting of a violin, a viola, a cello and a piano melodically played classical music in the very corner at a quiet pace as the people of the Louvre mingled casually.

As for the people - they were dressed in garments of all different sizes in color, the formality sticking to that of what looked like the style of the 1800s. Not one was not heavily powdered or dressed at their utmost best.

Xora felt a bit out of place; she was wearing so little makeup and had on a dress that did not belong in their suggested era. Levi looked as if he had simply thrown on the tuxedo, but he flaunted it to pure perfection. His tousled hair drew upon a seductive glow to his astonishing presence. She thought he looked stunning, though he made it seem as if he put in no effort - and he wasn't.

Immediately she and Levi blended in with the crowd, phrases of fluent French thrown around them, this way and that.

Whilst still quietly swerving through the crowd, they encountered a man with long, slicked back blonde locks that curled at its tips, the ends hanging just above his shoulders. He was donned in a blue suit, chatting with a few women as he handed out a couple of shined glasses filled with a dark, rosy champagne.

As soon as his eyes landed on Xora, his face lit up, auburn eyes widening. Right away, he left the women he was conversing with and approached Xora, eyes boring into her own.

" _Accueil_ , Rivaille," he greeted, bowing his torso. " _Et cette belle dame_." He was a tall and rather slender man, a white gloved hand asking for her's as he held it out. Xora peered at it suspiciously before slipping off her own black glove and taking it with extravagance. The man before her smiled and firmly pressed his lips upon her knuckles before she returned it to her side after sliding on her glove again.  **[Welcome, Rivaille, and this lovely lady.]**

She was a bit disgusted at the slobber the dripped from the creases of his cracked lips, some catching on her cream skin. Under the silky fabric of the glove, she rustled it against the folds of her dress and wiped it off. After his small conversation, she drew up suspicions. Were the man and Rivaille previous acquaintances?

" _Je suis Alan Clark_ ," he said, eyes surveying up and down her petite frame before coming to a rest on her own glittering eyes of jewels. " _Et vous êtes_?"  **[My name is Alan Clark, and you are?]**

" _C'est_  Seraphina," Levi cut in, the language of the French caressing his voice in ways that sent shivers down Xora's spine. " _Ma femme_." His last remark was close to a growl. Xora's eyes flickered over to Levi's cobalt ones where she swore she spotted a glint of hostility. It disappeared as quickly as it had come and she averted her eyes back to Alan.  **[This is Seraphina,** ** _my wife_** **.]**

"Seraphina," Alan drawled, seeming to not have been able to get the gist of Levi's small indication of threat. " _Quel beau nom_." He reached over and took a a strand of her ebony hair, bringing it up to his lips whilst taking a small whiff. " _Un beau nom pour une belle femme_."  **[What a beautiful name. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.]**

Xora simply nodded in thanks, resisting the strong urge to tear away from this peculiar stranger and start scrubbing her hair in a sink. She had no idea on how to react; generally, she would've knocked the taller man unconscious and locked him in a closet, tying his arms to a pipe before drugging him with memory impairment drugs and escaping. Because it was not her field of specialty, she had to use all of her mental and physical strength to not slap Alan silly. Instead she gave him a subtle, faux-smile, her eyes glazed over in a fake respect as her eyes stayed locked onto the man's.

"Alan," Levi addressed, desperately suppressing a gurgle of insults. " _Comment votre entreprise est en train de faire?_ " **[Alan, is your company faring well?]**

" _Mon entreprise_?" Alan chuckled before it burst out into howling laughter. He calmed his facade and smiled devilishly, flipping a few loose pieces of his hair over his broad shoulders. " _Assez bien. En fait, c'est que nous voulons gagner la Mona Lisa."_ **[My company? Quite well. In fact, it's sure we Clark Co. are to win the Mona Lisa.]**

" _Comment savez-vous si surement?"_ Levi asked, narrowing his eyes.  **[How do you know so surely?]**

" _J'ai mes manieres_." Alan smiled mischievously, dark eyes flashing with a certain bone-chilling cruelty that drew up a tempted frown.  **[I have my ways.]**

Levi opened his mouth as if to retort to the older man, but someone latched onto his forearm and gave him a large yank, Xora being jerked along also as she was still clinging onto the man's arm. For a moment he himself was a bit shocked, but he was surprised to see that there was a woman wearing an extremely skinny, glossy black dress dragging the two along.

She spewed extremely rapid french at him, her blood red lips moving quickly as she instructed notes Xora barely understand; she picked up only a few words, like annoying and stressed, most of which included swearing and complaints. Once she'd finished her little rant, Levi nodded solemnly and turned to Xora as the lady left, her five-inch high strapped high heels clicked annoyingly on the marble.

"Who was she and what did she want?" Xora whispered in a low tone, careful to eye those around her to make sure they were not being watched.

"That was the Louvre's event coordinator," Levi answered in a small voice. "We're acquaintances, but she's a bitch. The quartet's cellist's wife fell sick and he rushed to the hospital. She offered for me to play in his position, but the quartet will not play without him. Now I must play solo. If I don't play, well... let's say we'll have to abort mission." He let out a small, annoyed sigh and ran a gloved hand over his smoothed down hair.

'Levi can play the cello?' Xora wondered, raising an amused brow.

Together, they snaked through the crowd towards the corner where the quartet once belched their melodies - but now it was nearly completely empty, except for a lone chair and a cello that rested in the very center of the designated space. Levi looked around before sauntering over to the chair and sitting down, picking up the cello. He stretched out his wrist and prepared to set the rosined bow down on the thick string, but the woman from before encountered Xora.

" _Vous etes la femme de Rivaille, correct?_ " she asked in a hurried tone, her painted on eyebrows arching higher than they already had. Xora barely hesitated on spot before nodding briefly, unsure of what else to say. This woman was strange; it seemed as if she had chosen that dress purposely for the sole reason of accentuating her bosom and her bottom. Dark eyeshadow was dusted on her lids, obvious fake lashes slicking onto her lash lines. " _Aller, chanter_."  **[You are Rivaille's wife, correct? Go, sing.]**

The woman handed a microphone to Xora and nearly shoved her onto the small platform, causing her to nearly fall over in her slightly raised shoes onto the varnished wood. She fumbled to regain her balance and looked around nervously before shuffling to Levi's side. He looked at her with perplexed and wide eyes, questioning her reason for standing beside him.

"She told me to sing!" she hissed. "Your orders, Rivaille?"

Levi's eyes shifted away for a moment before clicking back, a new wariness present in that stormy gray. "I'm going to play  _Canon in D_ ," he said, readying the cello on his legs. "There are no lyrics. It's similar to an arpeggio and scale smashed into one. Just vocalize it an octave higher." He let out small sigh. "Emmaline... you  _bitch_."

Then, without another warning, he set the hairs of the bow onto the string and began to play the notes, the sound resonating ravishingly from within the wooden instrument. Xora was captivated at how gorgeously his fingers could dance across the strings, skipping from one to another with utmost skill. The crowd's chattering began to die out as the strangely melancholy sound began to reach the other's ears, drawing all eyes to themselves. If it had not been for that fact, Xora would've nearly forgotten to sing.

And so she did.

Her mind clicked onto the melody right after the opening. She poured out her voice in alluring tones, her voice staying high above the grand instrument's, becoming the perfect harmony to blend with the heavy notes. Levi's vibrato against the deep notes made the sound sweeter and more magnificent with every flick of the bow.

He himself was internally shocked to hear Xora sing. It was a smooth, divine sound that singled out from the others - it wasn't shrill and pitched, though it wasn't hollow. It was a bewitching voice that had sent his mind into autopilot where he simply frisked with the notes and instead drowned himself out in the her charming voice.

There were no words; she simply vocalized every note with as much power and feeling she could into the microphone, letting the sound of the cello touch deeper inside her mind - letting the sound of the cello soak into her  _soul_.

Soon, the song came to an end, the last note ringing clearly from between Xora's lips like a graceful swan lingering on the winds in the sky.

Once she had run out of air and had been cut off, an uproar of applause exploded from the party guests. Xora snapped out of her enchantment and blinked, remembering that she was performing in front of a crowd, not just singing.

Levi set down the majestic cello on its side and rested the now worn out bow on the side of the fingerboard, standing and immediately taking Xora's hand. Together, they bowed - though Xora still felt out of reality. Her head was still swimming with the glorious notes of Levi's playing, swarming both her heart and soul with emotions she had never experienced before.

"Look," Levi said, snapping her out of her patience. "We need to go.  _Now_."

"Wha - ?" Xora started, but stopped as soon as her eyes landed on the two security guards who were barreling through the crowd right towards the disguised couple. "Oh."

Levi gripped her hand. "Follow me - and don't fall behind, or you're going to be stuck like a sitting duck."

And he raced off through the still cheering people, calling for an encore.

Buzzing filled Xora's ears as it was all drowned out; the people, the guards, everything.

All that remained was the melody that Levi had produced, repeating over and over in her head.

Somewhere, sometime in her past, she remembered that melody. It clicked something inside her - but  _what_?

Not only that, along with the seperated notes, Xora felt and recognized the presence of... lament.


	6. Code VI: The Great Escape

All Xora could simply do as she and Levi raced through the crowd was try desperately to not let her mind become as muddled as it already was; the only time she finally and completely had jerked back into reality was the moment she and him had burst back into the grand hallway. His eyes were flickering around frantically along with hers, searching for a place to escape or hide. Though it was a fine museum, there were no artifacts big enough in that hall for the both of them to hide their presences.

"Did they uncover our identities, sir?" she hissed as Levi continued to drag her along, the hallway turning into blurs as they raced past at superhuman speeds.

"I don't know," he growled, "but they shouldn't have. Hanji, where is the nearest exit?"

"Huh?" Hanji's voice said. "Oh, sorry. Well looking at the Louvre's blueprint's and your current location, there should be one at the next left turn."

Shortly a metal door did come into view, and the two took a sharp left, slamming open the large door. There, seemingly endless stairs spiraled upwards. They looked ancient and unused; they were made of piled cinderblocks, their sediments crumbling from wear and tear. Without a moment's hesitation, as there was shouting in French heard behind them, they bolted up the stairs, higher and higher until there came a single iron door.

Levi swung it open and threw Xora through the door frame before exiting himself and closing it as quietly as possible.

Xora held her breath after the escape, both listening for any thundering footsteps as the rushing blood in Xora's ears nearly drowned out every other sound - including Hanji and Eren's panicked cries.

"What happened?!" Eren asked. "I go to the bathroom and come back to find that you've been discovered?!"

"I don't know," Levi grunted, sliding down to the cement flooring with his back against the wall. "Where are we?"

"The roof," Xora breathed in response, wobbling in her dainty shoes in which she could barely even walk, much less run properly. "We are outside."

A cool breezed tickled her hot skin and wispy hair, the speckled night sky stretching far beyond the eye could see like a canopy. The city of Paris was lit ablaze with thousands and millions of lights, all with a casted feeling of tranquility and quiet.

"Is there a way we can get away from here?" Levi sighed into the microphone of the device, running a white gloved hand through his windblown strands. Some had fallen loose during their flee, sticking out like the spikes on a porcupine.

"Not from where you are," Eren replied. "Not unless you'd like to jump to your death off the edge."

"After this mission, it seems like a tempting idea."

Xora stood awkwardly next to Levi as he conversed with the others, soaking in the night's grace. Her feet were aching from the extra six inches holding up her body weight, leading to her relief of taking them off.

After a small silence, Levi sighed again in annoyance, glaring at an empty space in front of him.

"I didn't know you could sing," he murmured, sliding his eyes over to meet hers out of the corners of his eyes.

"I didn't know you could play the cello, sir," she retorted, bowing her head in all of the situation's entirety.

"I can't."

"You proved back there that you are very skilled, sir."

"It was a simple song. You knew the notes right away yourself."

"It's only because I recall I've heard that melody somewhere before. I can't quite remember when or why, but I do, sir."

A labored sigh left Levi's barely parted lips and his smoothed out his hair again. "Drop the 'sir.' There's no need for you to be so formal."

"I'm simply an agent," Xora replied bluntly, rustling with the frills of her dress. "It's who I am and what I do. I'm sorry if my formality is to your distaste; I'll try to be more sociable in the future."

"Levi, Levi!" Hanji's voice piped up. "Hey, hey! I forgot to tell you!"

"You forgot to tell me what, shitty four-eyes?" Levi muttered.

"The event ends at midnight."

"What?" Levi pulled the his long sleeve backwards and glanced down at the shining wristwatch that sat curled around his wrist snugly, the glossy metal glimmering against the star's reflection. The fluorescent, pale blue numbers of the small digital clock read 21:46. "Fuck, we've got another two and a half hours to go?!"

"Sorry~!" Hanji tittered on the other end. "You could go back down to the party."

"And get our asses discovered? Hell no."

"Well, it looks like you're stuck with Miss Archangel, there! Since you guys are just sittin' around and waiting for the party to end, Eren and I are gonna go - I dunno, eat dinner, watch a movie, then go to sleep? You really found that liquor in the pantry, right Eren? Good luck~!"

"Wai - " But the on the other line a small click resonated from the small earpiece, the sounds going completely dead. "What the hell? Shitty four-eyes! Hanji!" Levi tried all of the nicknames he'd come up with for both Eren and Hanji, but there came no reply and only a slightly distinct buzz. Afterwards, long, long courses of gruesome insults and cusses were muttered through his gritted teeth.

"...So..." Xora drawled, "...we're trapped, I presume?"

"That's the fucking gist," Levi snarled, tilting his head backwards to glare up at the twinkling stars. "The two of them have fucking abandoned us."

"Alright, then. I'll standby until I am given my next order." Xora straightened her posture and placed both hands clasped behind her arched back, two fingers of her right hand holding onto the straps of her shoes. Levi let out another pent up sigh and loosened the tense muscles in his shoulders, completely giving into the fact that instead of actually continuing the grand mission, the only thing they were able to do was sit around and wait for the enemy to finish their little "gala."

"Captain?" Xora said in a small voice.

"Just 'Levi' is fine, but what?" Levi muttered from the ground.

"...Levi, if we do get our covers blown, what will happen?"

The black-haired man raised his head to state at the girl with merciless, cold slate eyes. "It's simple. We kill them."

Xora could feel her blood run cold. "Kill... them? As in, immediately, no questions asked?"

Levi gave her a solemn nod. "There is no need. We cannot, under any circumstances, get our true identities found out, as it could pose thousands more problems in the future."

"I see." She let out a small breath. "But how could we kill someone? It's not my field of specialty."

"I will."

"...Oh." Xora was a bit perplexed to find how bluntly Levi could speak about taking away one another's life. It was a touchy subject she could never handle properly for reasons she always kept close to her heart - not displaying them to where she could be the most vulnerable.

The phrase "O-17" resonated in Levi's head clearly, as he, the Commander, Hanji and several Alphas knew that sole mission was the core of her inability kill.

To interrupt their small conversation, heavy thuds of footsteps were heard heading up the staircase whose door stood directly behind Levi's broad back.

He jumped to his feet and swerved beside the doorway, rounding behind the frame with extreme speed. Xora did the same and strapped on her heels, the dull aching returning to her feet.

Someone was coming up the stairs.

What were they going to do?

As the footsteps neared, she peeked over the edge and caught Levi's eye. He motioned for her to stay tucked behind the wall, hidden in the shadows while he would take action. With a nod, Xora did as he had ordered and waited in the darkness.

When the footsteps had finally stopped in front of the doorway, Xora simply held her breath and braced herself for any necessary physical combat if it were needed. Though before she could act, the door creaked open and instant scuffling was heard, along with a single grunt and a soft thud. Once she assumed that the coast was clear, she peeked around the edge and saw the unmoving form of a well dressed man laying flat on his stomach.

Levi was standing before him, dusting his hands off with a simple raised brow. During that brief moment, Xora was able to leave the shadows and inspect the man thoroughly, searching his body for any means of identification.

It was at that moment that she realized it was the security guard from before as he had his sunglasses knocked off his face from the fall, the white scar from before clearly visible along his much darker skin.

Her eyes widened when a drop of uncertainty formed in her gut then grew larger and larger, the same kind of uneasiness obvious on Levi's tensing shoulder.

"Xora, get awa - !" he started, though he was cut off as the "unconscious" man's hand suddenly darted forward and latched onto Xora's ankle. She herself was in a state of shock but she quickly snapped out of it and snatched her foot away, out of the man's grip. He was obviously experienced himself as he launched to his feet and lunged for her throat, but she ducked lower and smashed her fist into his stomach as he dropped. A grunt of pain left his lips and Xora used the momentum of the strike to whip around and drive her knee into his bottom, throwing him back onto his stomach.

She barely had any time to waste as she rushed forward and to strike the pressure point at the base of his neck, but Levi intervened. He drew a sharp blade from the fold of his pants and shoved it straight into the guard's back, piercing the exact point of his heart.

Everything went still as the man stopped thrashing about, staying completely frozen in his state. Xora's eyes widened as realized what Levi had just done; he had simply killed the man without even taking a moment's hesitation - he did it as if it were a normal, everyday thing that was mandatory - just as bluntly as when he had been speaking about it.

Levi withdrew the knife from the man's dead body, now dripping with the scarlet liquid that used to circulate within. He threw it to the side and didn't bother to look back as he swooped in and scooped Xora up into his arms, sprinting to the roof. Rumbles of countless footsteps, probably belonging to multiple people, echoed up the stairway the security guard had just came from. Without a moment to spare, he leaped off of the roof, both of their bodies suspended in midair for a few small moments.

Then, gravity took action and began to draw them back to the ground, their bodies plummeting straight to the ground from over two stories high. At that rate, Xora had thought they were going to die, but something suddenly shot out from under the flaps of Levi's suit and grappled onto the creamy cement of a dark window frame.

They shot forward and were met with a burst of wind, the sudden air whipping the hair around Xora's face - though she was still in the state of shock. No matter how much she willed to, she could not move any of her limbs, and her jaw hung open in obvious surprise. Her mind felt fogged and cloudy, the thoughts that had been originally circulating within her mind now as thin as the air itself that was currently fighting to replace itself in her lungs.

Levi somehow managed to position himself on the ledge, retracting the cables from before back into his coat before setting Xora down on her own two feet. The ledge was only one yard wide, thus leading to the two having to share the small amount of space. She clung onto the frame with her hands as to not topple off of her high heels, the world dangerously spinning. At one moment, it seemed as if she'd lost all of her balance, but Levi snagged her waist and managed to press them both up against the darkened and rugged panes of the window behind their backs.

"You alright?" he asked in a gruff tone, glancing over with his curious gray eyes.

"I - I..." Xora stuttered, unable to speak. "Was it... necessary to kill him?"

Levi's brows raised. "If you hadn't noticed, the big-shot was going to kill you. You're lucky I managed to get on my gear in time or you would've been dead."

"I'm... I'm sorry. I had a slow reaction and I could've taken him out, but... I didn't. I have failed you, sir."

Though her apology was sincere and full of authority, her mind went elsewhere. 'Gear?' she wondered. 'What gear? Should I ask?'

As Levi turned to take in the view of the area, Xora managed to stealthily sneak a peek of the metal contraption under the tail of his suit. It was a strange looking thing with two round circular devices strapped near the sides of his waist with on cylindrical item in the middle of the gadget, a nozzle with a thin slit that seemed like it was designed to expel air attached. It seemed as if under the rest of his cloak, he had much more hidden, but it was too hard to tell as he turned to face her.

"Now that we're here," Levi said, "it seems like the only thing left to do is go back and get into our spy gear and surveillance the rest of the gala."

"Are we going to get down with using your gear again?" Xora asked. Levi nodded and offered to take her into his arms again. Reluctantly she obliged to his answer and let him snake his arm around her back and behind her knees, lifting her off of the window sill.

The strange cords blasted out from his contraption again and latched itself onto another building's structure.

Then together, with Xora's arms wrapped tightly around the captain's neck, her face partially buried onto the crook of his neck, they shot off under the moonlight.


	7. Code VII: Her Questions

Xora let out a small breath of relief as her feet once again touched the hard cement of the walkway towards the entrance in front of the small squad's base. Levi brushed himself off and muttered, "I'm never trusting those bastards. Never."

He stormed off towards the entrance of the grand house and pulled out a single key from his pocket, jamming it roughly into the lock before twisting the brass knob and slamming the door open. The lights inside were off, the once-lit chandeliar now dark, leaving the house drowned in silence.

"Where the hell are they?!" he growled, smashing his palm onto the light switch to flood the lobby in a warm glow. "You little shits!"

Small yelps were heard from down the central corridor, the sounds eerily recognizable. It seemed to trigger something in Levi's brain and he instantly shot down the hallway, going to every one of the wooden doors and kicking it open with his nicely dressed feet. When he reached the fourth one on the right, his shoulders broadened and he stalked inside with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Xora followed his footsteps down the hallway until she came upon the room Levi had gone into and found him abusing half-asleep Eren and Hanji, their heads locked in the crooks of his elbows.

"You fucking abandoned us!" Levi snarled, choking the two as he flexed his muscles. "Who the hell said you could just screw off?! XX and I nearly got pummeled out there because we didn't have anybody to warn us ahead of time, you shit-heads!"

"S - sorry, Captain!" Eren gasped, clawing desperately at Levi's arms. "But Hanji said that it d - didn't matter and that y - you would be okay because y - you're the IE's b - best agent!"

"'Okay?!' We almost fucking died!"

"Captain," Xora addressed, rushing over. She freed the two squirming ones from his arms and shoved them both behind her back, eyes flashing. "Despite their irresponsible actions tonight, I do not believe it would be best if you took care of discipline at this moment. It seems the two are... intoxicated. I can smell it."

As if on cue, Eren and Hanji veered over together until they collapsed side by side, their limbs splayed randomly across the hard tile floor. Drool dribbled from the corners of their lips; cheeks, noses and ears tinted a dusty pink.

"Yeahhh!" Hanji slurred, pointing a finger at the short man who still fumed in front of them. "Leviii, you should listennn to this girl here! Lady, what's yerrr name?"

"Hanji, I - HIC - I think I - HIC - had too much to drink - HIC!" Eren hiccupped, his forest green eyes swimming across the room.

"Therefore, I do not think it would be best to take any rash actions. Let us leave them be; in the morning it would be best to punish them, for when they're in this disoriented state, punishment would take no effect."

Levi clicked his tongue in disgust before straightening and patting the hem of his jacket, stalking out of the room angrily while muttering profanities. With a single indifferent glance back at the two who were still questioning the wonders of the universe, Xora trotted out of the room, following closely behind Levi. The heels of her shoes sunk into the carpet, just as it had earlier before she'd left, and she finally got tired of the pain that constantly shot up her feet, unstrapping the elegant shoes. Holding them in her hand, she scampered after Levi in an awkward manner, occasionally tripping on her sore feet.

Once they reached the lobby again, Levi turned to Xora. All anger had been washed out of his expression, which had returned to its regular nonchalant one.

"Nice job on the mission tonight," he complimented, though his tone sounded as if he had no care. "The only thing you need to freshen up on is this whole married-wife-and-husband act. When I introduced you to that son of a bitch named Alan, you were a bit too nervous and agitated. I could see it in your hands - they were hesitant."

"I'm truly sorry for my mistake, sir," she apologized in an almost robotic voice, bowing slightly. "In the future, I will try to be more romantic and fluid in the situation of love."

"You're telling me you've never been in a romantic relationship before?"

"I have never the time nor intention, nonetheless need for a romantic partner."

A brief bark of a chuckle escaped through Levi's thin lips as he leaned forward, and without any warning, placed his surprisingly warm lips onto Xora's cheek. She let out a gasp and he withdrew, her hand darting to her cheek. Her skin flushed a deep red and she could not help but portray deep discomfort on her usually cool and relaxed features.

"C - captain!" she exclaimed. "What was - "

"Training," Levi interjected, turning away. In that split second, she swore she caught the flash of a smug smirk or grin trailing his lips. "Consider it training. I'm going to turn in for the night, now. Bonne nuit, mon amour." [Good night, my love.]

Xora's jaw dropped the minute the words left those lips that had just barely touched her skin, electric sparks exploding from where they'd gone into contact. His dress shoes clicked against the tiles as he climbed the stairs and disappeared from view, going down a corridor to his room. Her hand was still glued to her cheek. That was the first time any male - besides Alan Clark, who'd kissed her hand - had ever touched her in that way.

To her memory, she never remembered a single sign of affection from anyone, male or female: not a hug, not a kiss, not a single hand to hold within hers. It obviously wasn't something she worried about, especially on a daily basis, but she knew the warmth she felt radiating off of his tender lips would be a sensation she could never forget.

Eyes scanning the lobby to make sure no one had seen the strange sign of affection, she proceeded up the stairs and smacked her hand onto her forehead when she realized that in her state of embarrasment, she didn't even have the thought of asking where her room would be. Glancing down the left hallway that looked exactly as the others did, she trailed down it, sure it was the one that included Levi's room.

There was one door, the sixth one on the left side with its door left slightly ajar, the rustling of fabric being heard from within. Making sure to knock, she rapped her knuckles on the wood, hoping it was the correct room.

"You can come in," a voice piped up from within. Thankful to have recognized it instantly, Xora pushed open the door, but froze the minute it slipped wide open. Inside there really was Levi, his back turned to her, but it was his bare back that again drew a deep flush to her cheeks. Before he turned to face her, she spotted tattoos on his back; wings, to be exact. One ivory white wing was drawn onto his sharp right shoulder blade, a deep navy blue colored one on his left.

"What do you need?" Levi asked nonchalantly, his eyes half-lidded. Xora could not speak as her wide eyes slipped down to his torso, tracing along the etched abs and multiple scars. Under those nice clothing, she'd never expected him to be so... toned. "Hello?" He trudged close to Xora and snapped his fingers in front of her face, ripping her out of her trance. "Earth to Xora."

"Ah!" she squealed, eyes tearing back up to meet his gunmetal ones. "I - I'm sorry! I was just wondering where my room was located. Please, accept my apology for my indecency. I will await your presence outside of your room - well, if you do not prefer such behavior, I will not, but then - I mean - " Bowing her head, she shut the door with utmost speed and ducked out, cheeks red as a tomato.

It was quite unlike her to be so hesitant and clumsy, but she thought it rude to interrupt her captain when he was in the midst of changing. She'd only taken three deep breaths when the knob clicked again, the door swinging open to reveal Levi now dressed with a very loose white button-up shirt, but it was left open, exposing his broad chest and chisled abs.

"Follow me, it's not too long of a walk," Levi grunted as he worked around her rigid body and nonchalantly trudged past two doors before opening the third on the opposite side of the hallway, holding it open for Xora. "You're staying here, brat. If you need anything, well, you know where my room is, but I prefer you bother shitty four-eyes first before you come to me." And with that he returned to his room without another word, the sound of the lock turning before Xora had even entered her own designated room.

Inside it was grand and luxurious, though not as close as Hanji's. Still, she was quite surprised at how hospitable they were to their guests; the bed was just as big, with a personal bathroom and a walk-in closet, the entire room colored in a pretty pastel shade of cream. The bed did not have a canopy like Hanji's, but Xora preferred it this way - it was easier to escape if there were any signs of danger.

Sighing, Xora slipped out of her dress and let out another annoyed sigh when she remembered she'd left her uniform with Hanji, stalking over to the closet to search for clothing. Thankfully, when she flipped on the switch, it flooded the space in warm light to display a hallway full of clothes, most more formal than casual, and even many more dresses of all colors of the rainbow hanging from hangers.

Tapping her chin, Xora carefully chose what she thought would be most comfortable out of the selection; it would be quite uncomfortable without her suit, but she had to make do without too many complaints. Her attire included a black pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved simple white shirt, pulling them on with ease after finding they were all a few sizes too large. They hung baggy and frumpled on her skinny and petite frame, but she shrugged and continued onwards to the bathroom.

It looked exactly as Hanji's had, including a large jacuzzi made of porcelain, a rain-spout shower made of porcelain, and an entire wall-length sink counter made of... well, porcelain. She wondered if Levi had an obsession with the material of porcelain, for she could see it everywhere she went in the house, but pushed away her questions and trekked over to the sink.

When she glanced at herself in the mirror, she could see she still had the makeup Hanji had paint on earlier still packed on her face, but she had no idea how to remove it.

"Maybe a little bit of water will...?" she pondered aloud, grabbing a nearby towelette. After wetting it under some cold water, she scrubbed at the fragile skin of her face and managed to get every scrap of makeup off, but her skin was rubbed raw and red after such hard scrubbing. The mascara was quite a tough one, especially. "Hm, I guess that'll do."

Xora proceeded to brush her teeth before coming back to the bedroom, shutting off the light and collapsing onto the gigantic bed. It felt quite wide compared to the one she used at the IE Headquarters; it was only a twin-sized one, and compared to the plush one she laid on now, it was as luxurious as luxury could get.

Snuggling into the feather-stuffed covers, Xora let the drowsiness overtake her fatigued senses, but before she could fully fall into a slumber, she replayed the questions in her head.

Why had Commander Erwin sent Hanji and Eren before she'd even taken the test to determine if whether or not she'd take the mission?

Who really was this "Alan Clark," this person Levi knew and seemed to loathe?

Why had she known the melody to the song Levi played on the cello, the beautiful Canon in D?

Why had Levi been so sly in giving her a peck on her cheek, as mischievous to place his lips against her skin?

And with that last question, she'd felt the blush return to her cheeks, but by that point, she was too tired to care, and finally let herself give in to sleep.


	8. Code VIII: Just Practice

The next morning, Xora was in Hanji's room again, this time with Eren. The three of them had been organizing through many of Hanji's inventory, doing so after Levi had ordered them to as punishment for the two's horrible HQ services. Xora had insisted to help the two out, claiming she'd nothing else to do, for Levi hadn't given her any instructions.

"I'm sure we didn't miss much," Hanji claimed, shrugging her shoulders as she flipped through an assorted stack of documents on the history of the Mona Lisa. "After all, you both  _did_  remain in one piece!"

"I'm sorry!" Eren apologized as he alphabetized folders and files into an emptied cabinet, the rest of its contents laid out in sprawled piles next to his sitting position. "Hanji insisted I try some of this expensive vodka she'd bought behind Heichou's back, saying she can't drink what she wants whenever he's around. I'm truly sorry, Archangel, if I'd been sober - "

"It's fine," Xora clipped, shaking her head as she cleaned up reports and documents that were to be filed away. "Do not dwell much on it. If it were to come to it, I would not hesitate to give my life for this mission."

"Now, don't be so morbid," Hanji chuckled, shaking her head. "Every member of we IE know that our own life is something we should value above a mission. Those failed missions can be compensated, but human lives cannot."

"In my certain situation, I am confident that mine does not reach that value. I am simply an agent. Sometimes, deaths are necessary for missions that  _do_  climb up to that value."

Both Eren and Hanji casted the girl wide eyed looks before meeting each other's gazes in unison as Hanji chuckled again.

"You're talking like Erwin, now," she simpered to mostly herself, remembering something like those words leaving his own lips. "I'm starting to sound like Levi. But then again, nobody wants a repeat of mission O-17, right?"

At Hanji's words, Xora paused for a sliver of a moment before stiffening and continuing to work, her pace quicker and more irregular.

"Yes," she answered briskly, her eyes stone hard on the documents in her hands. "I agree entirely."

"O-17?" Eren repeated, looking up from the pile of folders sitting on the floor in front of him. "What happened on mission O - ?"

"Excuse me," Xora cut Eren off, dropping her papers on Hanji's desk with a loud  _smack_. "I've finished here, so I will take to Captain Levi to see if he has any tasks at hand for me to take." And without even waiting for an answer from the astonished brunette, Xora swept out of the room within only a few strides. The door slammed shut behind her, leaving a thundering silence before the two left alone.

"Um... did - did I say something wrong?" Eren stuttered, looking at Hanji, bewildered.

She only returned him with a shrug before saying, "How do I phrase this..." She tapped her chin, pondering her words, then explained it to him as simply as she could. "Only very few know about mission O-17. When our miss Archangel was only thirteen years old, two years after she'd joined, she already worked her way up to Gamma status, and was sent on a mission to safely transport an artifact from an excavation site to a nearby lab for inspection. When no one got word from them after a few weeks, a few Betas were sent to go and check out their situation, and were shocked to come upon the missing agents."

"What?" Eren asked anxiously, his eyes wide with anticipation. "What did they find?"

"Every single person there, every agent that had attended that mission was slaughtered brutally, and according to one of the Betas, there was blood everywhere. Well, every agent was murdered - every agent but our thirteen year old Archangel."

Eren let out a gasp of shock and his hand shot to cover his gaping mouth. "What happened?!"

Hanji shrugged, eyes reverting back to the documents in her hands. "No one knows. The Betas had discovered that the artifact had not been stolen, and there had been two unidentifiable bodies along with the agents that had been sent, but it seems they had special tools that would mutilate their bodies at the time of indication for impossible identification. Meaning, these people who attacked knew that they were going to die; they knew they were destined for certain death. It's typical, this "Kamikaze" method. Whoever had attacked were obviously smart people, if not agents or terrorists themselves, because of the way the wounds had been inflicted on the Gammas. The Gammas had been stabbed in soft spots: the eyes, stomach, heart, and some in the legs, meaning some must have attempted to escape."

"What happened to Archangel, though?"

"When she was found, she'd been crouching beneath a tree beside the clearing where the massacre had taken place, holding a bloody machete in her hands. In fact, her entire body was covered in blood, but thankfully, none of it belonged to her. She was uninjured, unharmed - well, physically. It turned out she was shocked, though; enough to make her not utter a single word of what happened on that mission to a single living soul, including Erwin, no matter how much he tried to coax it out of her. Eventually they gave up, and to this day, still no one knows what happened - nobody except Archangel, of course."

"Oh..." Eren rubbed his eyes with his hands and ran them through his unruly sienna strands, shaking his head. "I never thought something like this could've ever happened to her. She just seems so... so of the norm. And level-headed. She acts as if something like that's never happened to her before."

Hanji shrugged again and stood to jam a couple of portfolios in one of the filing cabinets.

"According to rumors, again," the woman continued, "ever since that incident, she became much more withdrawn and introverted, when before, she'd befriended pretty much almost the entire organization. Besides that, her physical abilities increased tenfold."

Silence.

"Wow," Eren breathed, rather fascinated with this new backstory. "Just... wow. Do you think by now she's ready to tell us what happened on that mission?"

A breath of a giggle left Hanji's lips, but it didn't have an inkling of humor in that sharp sound. "Judging from the way she stormed out when you asked...  _no_."

\---

A knock at the door caught Levi's still simmering attention, his proud stature sitting lazily in his office chair.

"Come in," he deadpanned. Xora entered the room with her spiked aura still turned high, immediately catching Levi's attention. She stalked over to the front of his desk, her hands clasped behind her back, and bowed lowly.

"Good day," she greeted, about to say more, but he cut her off.

"Are you alright?" Levi asked with a single raised brow, steel eyes cold and calculating. They first caught the way her muscles were tense and shoulders rigid, the way her jaw was set and eyes undaunted. Their gazes locked onto each other and her features softened as she let out a small breath.

"No. I am fine, sir. Do not worry yourself with my wellbeing."

"I dislike unnecessary deaths. If we were to take on another assignment tonight, and you were to fail in an ambush or to get discovered, if you were unwell or uninjured, you would be surely to die. Especially in our type of situation."

Xora bowed her head again, chin bobbing. "I understand, captain."

Setting down the pen he'd been holding, he asked, "Anyways, did you need something?"

"Ah, yes," Xora voiced, her eyes brightening a few shades. "I've finished with the work Hanji had given me. Is there anything you would like me to take in hand?"

Levi was silent for a few moments as he searched through his crowded thoughts before coming to an answer. "Not at the moment," he noted, "but there is something I would like to address with you, Xora."

Xora's breath caught in her throat briefly at the sound of her name; she felt the urge to question him about it, but it would be rude to question him of his doings in her mind. "What is it, sir?"

"Have you never done an undercover social mission before?"

"As I have said before, I do more thievery and behind-the-scenes types of missions. This is not my specialty. Why is it you're asking me?"

"Your social skills were a bit... questionable. Quite particularly in romance."

Acknowledging this, Xora's eyes locked onto the cherry wood of Levi's desk and she nodded. "I have known that. I apologize, again, if I am not at best. I know it is a course practiced and taken, acting and social skills, but it seems I have begun to become rusty. Usually, I am not one to socialize, so I apologize of I cannot do so. In the future I will try at my utmost best to be quite... cooperative."

"You don't socialize much?" Levi stood out of his chair and looped around the desk until he stood in front of Xora, gazing into her eyes wondrously. "Tell me, have you ever had a lover before?"

"No," Xora answered with a shake of her head. "I do not take much care in that department."

"That explains why you were so timid when it came to that subject last night." His hand went up to caress her cheek. "Here, let's practice. It's useful, to practice, and I can vouch for that. Well, we can if I have your granted permission."

"It is for a mission," Xora reassured, mostly to herself. "Things like this are of little bother."

Heeding her answer, Levi leaned forward and touched his forehead against hers, his left hand cupping her cheek, the other tucking a loose strand of her inky black hair behind her ear.

"Seraphina,  _mon amour_ ," he whispered in his low, rumbly voice, the French rolling off in velvet breaths. " _Restez avec moi._ " [ **Seraphina, my love. Stay with me.** ]

His left the thumb gently ran over her smooth skin, drawing a strange kind of heat to Xora's cheeks as his eyes looked into hers lovingly.

" _Mon précieux_ ," he continued in his silky voice, " _je t'aime_."  **[My precious, I love you**.]

The hand that had toyed with loose strands of her hair swept over her skin and dragged all the way over to her chin, where Levi tilted her face upwards to his. He then pulled her closer, close until his lips were hovering just above hers, only a hair's breath until they would collide and sparks would fly, the world lighting, blazing high with embers, so bright they --

"And that's how it usually goes," Levi instructed in a nonchalant tone, cutting off Xora's anticipation, pulling away just before their lips would meet. Xora had to pull herself back into reality, to remember that it was all an act, something that wasn't real. "Got it? If you want, we can practice again, even with Eren."

"I - I've got it," Xora stuttered, turning away abruptly to leave his office. "Thank you, sir. I will try to be more romantic in the future." And with that she quickly exited, her mind swimming, cheeks still burning a cerise color.

Running to her room, she bounded up the steps and tumbled inside the one place in which she could be alone. Rushing into the bathroom, she made sure to turn the lock before hobbling over to the sink, her shoulders hunched, a hand palm over her mouth as she struggled to stop hyperventilating heavily, eyes large with anxiety. Her vision was morphing and changing, and she was seeing double of everything.

What was it, this strange feeling? What was it Xora felt when the captain had leaned in so close like that?

"It was only p - practice," she panted, her entire body shaking badly. "It was just practice. Practice for our - our aliases. P - practice." She sank to her knees, one hand still clutching the ledge of the porcelain sink intensely, the other still clamped over her mouth.

"Practice. Just p - practice."


	9. Code IX: Original

Over the course of the next few days, it was uneventful and contained mostly lessons of complicated French for Xora and intense planning of another assignment - which included cooperation between Hanji and Levi, meaning Eren had to be the one to further expand Xora's knowledge on the beautiful language. Except, he wasn't that fluent in French - in fact, it was more Xora teaching him rather than vice versa.

On the fourth day of Xora's time in Paris, as she and Eren were slowly reading passages of French out of a text book, Hanji burst in with a wide grin, the captain following closely behind.

"Hello, you two!" she greeted warmly, stretching her arms. The younger of the quartet both glanced up from their positions at a lone table in the center of the large library, the room quite musty and dark due to low lighting. There only light source was actually from a tall window that stood with no curtains, a grid shadow cast across their work from the selective panes of the glass and wood. "What're ya kiddos up to?"

"I'm teaching Archangel french," Eren answered, before catching himself. "Er, more she's teaching me." He let out a nervous chuckle and scratched his cheek, his skin flushing a light pink. "We're both learning quite a bit, though! I mean, I think I'm getting the hang of this french accent."

"At least you weren't being entirely useless," Levi acknowledged quitely, trudging over to the two. His eyes flickered lazily over the few stacks of books piled on the round wooden table, many of them bookmarked and some open to certain pages. "Aside from that, tonight we are going to embark on another mission."

"Well, it's like a mission within our mission," Hanji giggled, motioning for the Eren and Xora to move aside so she could sit in between them. Once she was seated comfortably, they moved all of the books so they fanned outwards, and she placed a roll of paper on the table. "Would you care to do the honors of opening our plan?"

"Just roll it open already," Levi sighed, leaning over Xora's shoulder to smooth out the parchment and flatten it against the wood. His face was dangerously close to hers, and she could feel herself inch away slowly with every passing moment. "Alright now Hanji, give them the details."

"Got ya!" Hanji clapped her hands and pointed to a picture of the Mona Lisa in the top left-hand corner. "As we all know, the Mona Lisa is just about the main thing about our mission. Because we are suspicious of the fact that it is being given away so easily, there's one thing that could completely turn the tides; it could be a fake."

"That would give it reason for being given away so easily," Xora murmured, rubbing her bottom lip with her thumb whilst nodding slightly.

"Exactly. Now, there are very many con artists out there who specialize in creating fakes; someone would have to have a very, very sharp eyesight to catch details that would ensure the piece is counterfeit. Xora, from reading your profile, I know you have skills in that area, correct?" All eyes went to Xora and she nodded solemnly. "Okay, then. You're definitely locked in for the mission. Now, when we get to the Mona Lisa - " Her finger dragged over to a list of bullet points, " - we're going to have quite a few questions."

"If it's counterfeit," Levi cut in, "there will be three specifically. Where is the original, and is it safe? Who created the counterfeit? How did the original get replaced by the counterfeit, and who was responsible for that?"

"If it's not," Hanji said, "then we can return home without any stress whatsoever. There's a low chance it could be counterfeit, because of the high security, but we can't take any chances." She pointed to the Louvre's layout, with the blueprints traced on quite neatly. "Starting with the roof, we're going to have to infiltrate through the entrance you two escaped through on the first night. You're going to travel to the Mona Lisa from there - I'll give you directions through the earpiece because it's too much of a mouthful to explain now - but there are some obstacles, of course. Guards go on patrol at night."

"It'll be simple to take them out," Xora muttered, the gears in her head spinning and turning. "If I can get them from behind, which won't be much of a problem with the dark hiding me."

"Don't forget that there will be cameras!" Hanji sang, smiling daringly.

"I'm sure you will have taken control of the Louvre's entire security system before I even arrive at the museum."

"Right on!" Hanji patted Xora's back roughly. "You're a step ahead of me! Anyways, it shouldn't be too heard; infiltrate, find the Mona Lisa, check if it's counterfeit, return the way you came, and boom! You're home free."

"Sounds simple enough, but I know from past experiences that I shouldn't speak too soon. Am I embarking alone?"

"Inside the museum, yes," Levi answered, "but I will be escorting you there, and I'm planning to be stationary at the entrance in case of any signs of danger. I'll alert you if there is any."

"Well then," Hanji cheered, clapping her hands excitedly, "without further ado, let's get going~!"

\---

"You ready?" Eren asked, eyes skimming over the details on his clipboard.

"Almost," Xora answered, seated on the bottom step of the left stairwell in the lobby. "Just let me finish up here." Pulling back her long locks, she sweeped her hair into a tight ponytail, securing it with a tight black rubberband infused with silicone to prevent it from snapping in time of danger. After it was properly tied up, she laced up her faux leather combat boots and double-knotted the ends, tucking them into the flap to make sure they wouldn't catch on anything and trip her. Standing in her dark body-suit, she adjusted the high collar and nodded to Eren, letting him know she was finished preparing.

He nodded in response and gave her an earpiece, promising, "Don't worry, I made sure the volume was turned low."

Jutting the device in her ear, Xora pressed her lips into a thin line and nodded her head once before exiting out of the door, meeting right up with Levi. He was dressed in black clothing also, with a long overcoat covering his torso and the back of his legs, the tall collar reaching his jawline. Under, he bore simple clothing; a dark sweater, dark pants that tucked into dark ankle-height boots - and over his waist she could see a gadget belt with a concealed pocket for none other than a gun.

A gun that could be used to kill somebody if it came to it.

Xora shook off the thought and continued forward to the dark van that would transport them under the blanket of night to the museum. Without waiting for an order, she climbed into the passenger seat and slid the seatbelt over her thin torso, clicking it into place. Levi climbed in soon after her silently and turned the key already in place, the car bursting to life with a low rumble. These types of vans were designed to be stealthy and quiet; the loudest sound was a low hum and it could speed up to two-hundred miles per hour in the case of a chase. In the back, there were several computers that would help with calculating data and hacking systems if need be. They began to move down winding streets in the direction of the Louvre, Xora soaking in the surroundings and strange street names to map out in her head. Glancing at the clock, it flashed 2:00, meaning the museum had long been closed, and the security guards would definitely be patrolling the vast place.

The ride was short and silent, and soon they arrived at the museum - well, tucked away in the very back of it. The two left the van and began to embark upwards, using that strange contraption of Levi's again to climb the tall building. Its view was hidden under the flaps of Levi's cloak, shielding Xora's view, but she promised herself she'd get a good look later on.

Once on the roof, he released her and they rushed over to the door, Xora picking the lock whilst Levi kept watch outside. It popped open once the lock was released, and Xora prepared to leap down the stairs, but a hand stopped her. Whipping around, she was surprised to find Levi's intense gaze peering straight into her sapphire eyes.

"Be careful," he advised before slipping off her glove and pecking her knuckles. He dragged it on again and released her, jutting his chin towards the stairwell. "Now, go."

Dazed and confused, Xora ignored the rushing heat that surged to her cheeks and crept down the stairs by threes, unable to sort through the jumble in her mind. Once she reached the bottom, she grasped onto the banister to steady her spinning world. Shaking her head, she reminded herself that it was an agent's job to be able to shake off these kinds of events easily. Aside from that, Levi was just wishing her luck, not genuinely showing any signs of true affection... right? No one wanted their comrade to fail a mission, especially when they worked for the Iridescent Empire.

After Xora broke through the lock of the door at the bottom, she easily slipped through the door and shut it silently behind her. Glancing around, she spotted no other human in sight, and had no doubt in Hanji's hijacking skills, so she proceeded forward with no worries as Eren's voice buzzed on in the earpiece.

"Archangel? Do you read me?" it crackled at a pleasant volume.

"I hear you, over," she murmured quietly to not draw attention.

"Alright. From where Hanji and I see you, keep going straight down that short hallway, then make a left turn." Xora followed his instructions precisely and was about to turn the corner as he had said, until his voice stopped her. "Wait, there's a security guard coming down that way. Take him out, quickly. Over."

"Roger." Xora waited around the bend, her eyes following the faint light of a flashlight swimming over the hall, the center of the most concentrated light nearing her with every loud footstep the night guard made. When he finally passed the corner, Xora shot out from her hiding spot and came up behind the man, her hand darting to strike him in the temple. He crumpled immediately and his flashlight clattered out of his hand, rolling away with the light flickering gently. As quietly as she could, Xora dragged the man over to a wall where she propped him against it before retrieving the flashlight and shutting it off, placing it in the man's hand.

After he was taken care of, she speeded down the hallway Eren indicated, his voice sending her many more instructions as she raced down many, many different exhibits and halls before reaching a grand room, its features doused out with the dark.

"I take it this is the room where the Mona Lisa is located?" she breathed, taking quiet steps as she surveyed the dark.

"You got it," he answered, his reply ending with a small zap. "I assume you can take it from here on out?"

"Roger. Is it free of presences?"

"Clear."

Xora quietly trotted over to where the designated painting was hung up against the wall primly, only ropes tying off the area surrounding it. She was quite surprised to find that there were no other means of security, but she shrugged it off and continued forward, making sure the alarms were taken care of. When she approached it, she felt along the wall and the golden frame in worry for any indications of rough handling or irregular features, but found nothing.

Then she took to the goal of coming to the Louvre that night.

Her wide, observing orbs glazed over the painting steadily and slowly as she deeply concentrated on every single tiny detail of the piece of art, reassuring her that it was the original, that it was not something fake. Again and again, her eyes traced over every blended line, every shade of every color, every aspect of the grand painting. She even observed it from multiple angles, walking around it to gain several aspects, changing her perspective over the Y and X axis over and over again.

Finally, when she came to her conclusion, she straightened herself and let out a small breath, her face indifferent as she spoke into her device.

"Hello? Are all three of you there?" she called quietly.

"I'm here," Eren chimed.

"The one and only!" Hanji cheered into her own device.

"You called?" Levi deadpanned, his voice robotic over the device.

Stepping over the rope that separated away the painting from the rest of the room, she said, "I've finished identifying the painting."

"And?" Levi grunted. "What of it?"

"I wish it wasn't so, but..." She sighed. "It's counterfeit."


	10. Code X: Alarm

"As I suspected," Hanji sighed over the microphone, her breath coming through as several little crackles. "How did you confirm this?"

"In the 1500s, the traditional art style was oil paintings," Xora explained, turning to exit the room. "A cloudy, faded stroke that left no residue or particular texture was use widely between professional artists alike. The artist who made this fake must've been an amateur, or at least a very big loof for not knowing that. I can clearly see brush strokes all across the entire painting." 

"Good work," Levi complimented, "now, you should get out of there."

"Roger." Before she could get a proper glance at something that caught her eye on the piece, her vision was swarmed with flashing red lights and an annoying blare sounded, echoing off of the walls. Instinctively, Xora pulled up the collar of her shirt and unclipped the hidden mask, clasping the ties to a the rims of a pair of sunglasses she produced out of an inner chest pocket. They were deeply tinted to block the brilliant azure of her eyes, the darkness of the mask shadowing the lower half of her face. "An alarm!"

"Who would've pulled the alarm at a time like this?!" Eren shouted through the earpiece. The alarm was repeatedly screaming that annoying alert sound throughout the entire museum, red light pouring into every room. "Archangel, get out of there as fast as you can!"

Eren didn't need to utter a word, for Xora had already taken off running, sprinting down several hallways and corridors she'd mapped out in her head as Hanji had been giving her directions. Remembering several markers and artifacts she'd seen on her way to the painting, hope rising in her gut when she spotted the doorway leading to the cieling. As of that moment, it was her only means of escape, and she was determined to use it to the best of the resource.

Eyes enlarging, she skidded to a stop, the dark of her soles screeching against the floor when she spotted a figure standing right beside the doorway.

"There's someone here!" she hissed into the earpiece, pulling her right foot back to get into stance. "I'm going to intercept them and see who it is!" It would be of the best intentions to know what person, besides the museum night guard, would be doing at the Louvre at such a late time. She raised her balled fists in front of her, preparing for a fight if the person wanted one.

" _Eh bien, bien, bien_ ," the man drawled in a cold, soothing voice, one that instantly pricked recognition in the back of Xora's mind. " _Qu'avons-nous ici_?"  **[Well, well, well, what do we have here?]**

"I'm turning up the microphone sensitivity so we can listen in!" Hanji said into the device, a small beep sounding a second later.

" _C'est une bonne chose que je planté ces caméras autour de la peinture quand j'ai eu la chance_!" Alan Clark laughed, smoothing back his blonde hair with slick, white gloves. He was donning that same crisp, blue suit, though Xora could tell there was something different about it - it was the shape of a gun concealed in his inner left chest pocket. " _Maintenant, permettez-moi de connaître l'identité de ce voleur, ici_?"  **[It's a good thing I planted those cameras around the painting when I had the chance! Now, may I know the identity of this thief, here?]**

Xora had no wish to speak, for everyone at the gala from a few nights before had already heard and recognized her voice - but then again, she was singing, and the resonating sound of it was nothing like her casual voice. Taking no chances, she disguised it by saying it with a nasally tone, and bringing the pitch lower than usual. It was tough to concentrate over the alarms still blaring, but she wrestled the words out as best as she could.

" _Je suis pas un voleur_ ," she growled, narrowing her eyes until they were mere slits. " _Le voleur ici, c'est vous, Alan Clark_!" Her accent was still a bit rough, but it was easily passable as a person who spoke the beautiful language of French well.  **[I am not a thief! The thief here is you, Alan Clark!]**

" _Mon, mon! Même un voleur comme vous connaissez quelqu'un aussi grand que moi, Alan Clark! Suis-je vraiment célèbre? Je suis flatté que vous savez qui je suis, petit voleur, mais je crains que ce n'est pas le moment de parler_."  **[My, my! A thief like you knows someone as great as I, Alan Clark! Am I really that famous? I am flattered that you know who I am, but now is not the time to chat.]**

" _Vous snob arrogant. Allez manger votre propre merde! Sortez de la voie avant que je décide d'utiliser la force_!"  **[You arrogant snob. Go and eat your own shit! Now get out of the way before I decide to use force!]**

A flicker of annoyance and temporary rage lit in the taller man's eyes, but it was instantly extinguished as he turned with a smug smirk, throwing one hand up in a backwards wave.

" _Je prendrai soin de toi moi-même_ ," he chortled, walking away, " _La police est déjà sur le chemin de bien prendre soin de déchets comme vous. Je n'ai pas le temps pour des petits voleurs_."  **[I would take care of you myself, but the police are already on their way, and they will properly take care of trash like you.]**

Not willing to end it like this, Xora darted forward and leaped in the air, smashing a kick with the heel of her boot into his behind, sending him tumbling. He yelped out in surprise and swore profusely when he landed on his chin, knocking his teeth together, with a bruise sure to form on his cosmetically-shaped jaw.

" _Au revoir!"_  she tittered before she cleanly slipped into the stairway, her only source of light being the red glow that emitted from the crack under the doorway to the museum. Racing up the steps, she reached the top in no time, meeting up with Levi just as planned. Without even exchanging a single word or utter, he scooped her up in his arms and descended the building with his strange contraption again, both climbing seamlessly into the car. Then, together, they speeded away, not bothering to take one glance behind, leaving the police cars with sirens and lights that had just arrived at the grand museum.

\---

"Welcome back!" Hanji cheered as the two arrived back at their headquarters, kindly greeting them with bottles of freshly cooled spring water. Xora quietly sipped hers, finishing the entire thing in no time, but Levi didn't even open his.

"What data have you collected?" he asked immediately, taking off his coat and placing it on a rack right beside the closet.

"Come to the data room with me."

"Data room?" Xora repeated, slipping off her sunglasses and mask. "What is this 'data room' you speak of?" With steady fingers, she tucked the fabric mask back into place and hid away her sunglasses in an outer pocket.

Levi's gaze slid over to Hanji, who chuckled awkwardly before he stalked over and whapped her right behind the head, making a "tch" sound with his lips. "Didn't I tell you to give her a fucking tour  _two days ago_?!"

"Y - yeah," Hanji answered timidly, holding her head with clasped fingers. "But I told Eren to do it beca - "

"I told  _you_  to do it in the first place for a damn reason! Shitty four-eyes!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Now, now, little captain, let's wave off that small problem and finally show Archangel to the data room!" A small snigger left her lips, and it was obvious by now that Hanji was just clearly trying to push Levi's button. She ducked under his next smack and grapped Xora's hands, dragging her away with the man shouting insults towards the brunette the entire way they jogged down the central corridor and entered through the biggest set of double doors Xora had seen in the entire building. "Here is the data room."

When they opened, Xora's jaw dropped in surprised as she spotted the set of six different screens the size of sixty-inch televisions, all fit together like a puzzle piece over a long panel of several levers, switches, buttons, mini-screens, and much more. It was quite a vast room, with a small kitchen tucked away in the corner, and a doorway open leading to a bathroom on the opposite side.

In front of the panel sat Eren, jotting a few notes down on his clipboard - as usual - his head rising when he spotted the three enter.

"Heichou! Archangel!" he greeted, jumping up from his seat. "I see you've made it back safely! Are you both alright?"

"Don't worry about me," Xora answered quietly, not used to the attention she was getting from this teenage boy. "I'm fine."

"As am I," Levi grunted, going straight to the panel. He switched on all six screens, all linked to the panel like a single computer. Another one on the panel by his hands, a screen the size of a laptop, showed a floor of blueprints for none other than the Louvre. The six screens all displayed several points in the museum, every one split into four different sections - meaning they head twenty-four different viewpoints in total.

This was how Hanji and Eren had kept a close eye on Xora throughout the entire mission both that night and the night of the gala.

"We saw everything through this camera right here!" Hanji chimed happily, pointing to the upper right corner of the bottom middle screen. "That jump kick was awesome, Archangel! Nothing less than what I'd expect from the Sanctioned Archangel, I'd say."

"And that insult was quite a good one," Eren commented with a smile. "It seems you might be rubbing off of Heichou since you go on so many adventures with him!"

"It wasn't that," Xora denied, resisting the heat that rose to her cheeks. "I just have a problem against people who always have a stick up their ass."

The two brunettes burst into laughter, even Levi giving her a shocked look. No one had expected someone as finely reformed and respectable as her to say such a statement.

"Well, either way," Levi said, halting the laughter and giggles with a hand, "describe to us in detail what had happened. I want a clear perspective on your behalf."

"Pardon my language. After I explained to you guys why it was a counterfeit," Xora explained, grateful to Levi for having stopped the snickering, "the alarms went off. It was quite deafening, and all of the red sensory lights in the museum flashed quite intensely. It's a good thing I made sure to cover my face, because if I didn't, I know for sure that Alan would've recognized me. Besides that, he specifically stated that he had set up cameras beforehand around the Mona Lisa on his own account, and that was how he had noticed my presence."

"Ah,  _there_  we go," Hanji murmured, nodding slowly. "That explains it. I was confused, because I had known for a fact that we'd taken control of every functioning camera within the museum's power. Meaning, because he had put up those cameras of his own volition, the museum was not authorative for it, so we could not take monitor of those if we wanted to, nonetheless know they'd been there in the first place."

"That was my guess too, after I realized I had no notification of his presence or that there were more cameras in the room, too. Though, it was a mistake on my part, as I should've noticed them beforehand."

"No, it was my fault," Eren protested, shaking his head. "I was the one who proofread over all of the details. I should've know that there were anomoly cameras set up on the grounds."

"There's nothing for you to worry about," Xora said, setting a hand on his shoulder. "It's all behind us now. The thing is, we got some major details in our investigation, so though there were a few quirks in our plans, we've hit jackpot. Besides, what plan ever goes without a flaw?"

"Relay to us the details you've conceded," Hanji ordered, notioning for Eren to write down Xora's words on his clipboard. He scrambled to steady a pen in his hand, but nodded for Xora to go on.

"Alright, then," she sighed, releasing her sleek hair from its ponytail. Before speaking, she ran her scrawny fingers through it a few times and smoothed out its silky waves. "Alan is obviously keeping a very, very close eye on the painting without the museum's consent - meaning, he is doing this illegally, and there are others who could be doing the same thing. Also, the painting is a counterfeit, with improper production methods and a very, very idiotic con artist." Closing her eyes, she let out another slow breath, this one much more quiet. "But there's a new question that rises out of all of this: what was Alan Clark doing at the Louvre museum at two o'clock in the morning, in the dead of night?"


	11. Code XI: The Theory of Da Vinci

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please remember that this story is fiction. As much as we'd all love for this to be our reality, it is not.

Barely one week had passed before the temporary peacefulness of the Parisian house disturbed by a very, very disheveled Hanji.

Xora was in the library - as usual - practicing her French, Eren not helping this time, as he was busy inspecting the security of the museum after that unfortunate incident of Alan's the secret cameras. Aside from French textbooks, she was also paging through past documents of wanted criminals in the past twenty years.

"Archangel!" Hanji screamed, bursting into the library with a loud bang. "Archangel, Archangel, Archangel!" The brainy brunette rushed forward and slammed down a scrolled up piece of large parchment on the large table Xora occupied, an annoyed Levi following with a vexed glare.

"You don't need to scream so loud, you idiot," he scorned with a click of his tongue, glowering at Hanji.

"I think she broke the knob of the door," Eren choked when he walked in, staring at where the brass knob of one of the heavy doors had snapped off, leaving it hanging by a mere thread of metal.

"I've made a discovery!" Hanji screeched, fingers fumbling to unfurl the coffee-tinged paper. "Well, it's only a theory, but it's a very strong theory!"

"Hanji, please," Xora said as she set her hands on the older woman's fingers, trying to calm her. "I think you need to slow down and rest." Her statement was proved by the dark, dark circles under Hanji's worn eyes, her hair frayed and jutting out in several places from her rushed ponytail. It looked as if she hadn't had any sleep for days - which, Xora was about to find out. "When's the last time you had any rest?"

"Five days ago!" Hanji answered in a high-pitched tone, wide eyes darting around erratically. "A new record! And - and it's all thanks to coffee and energy drinks! Yes! Now, now, let's get going on this project, shall we?!"

"Calm the fuck down," Levi ordered sternly, placing a hand on Hanji's shoulder. "You need to take a bath and get some sleep, god dammit."

"No! Not until I show you guys this amazing theory!" Slipping her hand, Hanji smoothed out the wrinkled paper against the table, Xora, Levi and Eren huddling around to get a better look at the sheet. In the very center was a photo of their main aspect; the Mona Lisa, of course. The small image was surrounded in scrawled graphite writing, arrows leading off into several different directions. Across the margins of the poster sheet, there were many notes dictating tiny sketches, bullet points of information, subject topics, and many more.

"Back in the day," Hanji snickered, "I sound old when I say that. Anyways, during the time Da Vinci was alive, they say he was a very, very kind and generous person with a personality that seemed to click with just about anyone. According to biographers, he was a very handsome man with incredible strength, along with being known as a very, very persuasive and influential person. In the most basic terms, he was a very open person to the world."

"I don't... see what this has to do with our mission," Xora interjected, her icy eyes darting across the detailed paper.

"But wait!" Hanji pointed to an image of a very, very ancient document near the Mona Lisa's picture, the document containing several unrecognizable characters. "Surprisingly after a long, long time of research, I actually stumbled upon this - it was one of his last works. Now, it looks like complete gibberish, doesn't it? Random characters he drew up abstractly and just jumbled together; well, in reality, it's not."

"It's still nothing to our objective, you blithering idiot," Levi snorted, crossing his arms. "If you keep on discussing irrelevent things such as this, I'll make sure to - "

"No, no!" Hanji sighed exasperatedly, tugging a loose strand of hair out of her ponytail. "Let me finish, please." The pad of her fingertip slid over the paper to the bottom right corner, circling around a large block of information. "Anyways, I was actually able to encrypt a part of what he wrote - that also took a very long time - and was surprised to find that Da Vinci may not have been, in fact, a very happy man. As some of you may know, he suffered from partial paralysis on the right side of his body for a couple of years until his death from 'natural causes'. This may have played some part in his lament, but what I translated from this small message is, 'The truth of both my melancholy and greatest treasure lies in my greatest piece.'"

"And that was only a portion of the entire message?" Xora asked, eyebrows knitting together.

"Yes! Yes, yes! I have much, much more to go through, but I think this alone may be one of the reasons there are so many people competing for Mona Lisa! It very well may be that there is a secret hidden in the painting! I have no idea how or what or why or whatever, but we've got to get our hands on it!"

"At least, before the black market does," Eren murmured, rubbing his chin with his fingers. "But it got stolen, remember? Besides that, what befuddles me even more is the fact that the painting got taken and replaced right under the noses of the museum owner and caretakers. Has anyone even bothered to check if the painting was a counterfeit besides us? Or even the security tapes or - or anything?"

"No," Xora answered, her calculating eyes widening when they mey with Eren's tortoise-shell ones. "They did not bother. Not because they had not noticed, or because they hadn't gotten suspicious, but because of one crucial thing I forgot to factor in: somebody in the museum, somebody within the staff or conspiring with the museum staff assisted in the kidnapping of the painting. Meaning, a person within personnel of the museum helped replace the actual painting with a counterfeit, not reporting it under false pretenses...!"

"Wonderful deductive skills, Archangel!" Hanji complimented triumphantly, nodding excitedly. "That is exact what I got from the last investigation! Now, what do you think we should do next?"

"We should try and locate the Mona Lisa as of this moment," Xora answered, rubbing her chin with the pads of her fingers. "Most likely, it has already fallen into the wrong hands, but if I'm calculating this correctly..." She furrowed her brows together, the gears in her skull whirring with her thoughts. "... We have approximately a thirty-seven percent chance of getting it back."

"Whoa," Eren breathed, staring at Xora with large, child-like eyes. "How did you come up with that number, Archangel?"

"I simply factored in how freshly done the counterfeit looked, the thief - possibly Alan - and the state of the museum staff. Along with many minor details, if I compare and contrast with the pros and cons, I can get an ideal percentage of an assignment that would end successfully."

"How so?"

"Let's say there was one pro and one con. That would give it a fifty percent chance of succeeding. If you really weigh both options and number them correctly, you can get a simple ballpark."

"Perfectly done!" Hanji praised again, clasping her hands together. "Wonderful, wonderful job, Archangel! I had no idea you were this intelligent! Even Levi's impressed, eh?"

Xora's gaze wandered over to Levi, who had been generally silent the entire time. His only response to Hanji's statement was a slight "tch".

"Well, that is all!" Hanji closed, rolling up the paper. She stood abruptly, wearing probably the largest grin Xora had ever seen. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have more research to get to!" Hefting her leg over the wooden seat, she started for the door, but instantly wobbled and fell. Darting out from her spot, Xora lunged forward and caught Hanji just before she was to crash into the floor, using herself as a cushion to stop the fall. With a quiet oof, Xora's face contorted in pain, the passed out woman snoring quietly on her chest.

"XX!" Levi shouted, both he and Eren rushing forward to lift Hanji's limp body off of a breathless Xora. "Shitty four-eyes, you idiot!" The woman, of course, could not respond within her slumber, but Eren offered to drag her to bed and quietly did so.

Xora was still lying on the floor, sucking in slow breaths to relieve her constricting lungs of their pain. The wind had been knocked out of her the moment her back collided against the floor, Hanji's head having had slammed into her chest.

"Are you alright?" Levi asked in a hurried tone, crouching down. He wove his hand under her lower back and supported Xora as she slowly sat up, still exhaling slowly. "That idiot, I knew something was going to go wrong!"

"I'm fine, Levi," Xora murmured, shying away from his touch. "It's nothing. With Hanji's continuous researching, we were able to find out about this secret of the Mona Lisa."

"Even if she discovered this, she could've at least taken a shower. You're hurt because of her."

"Please, don't concern about me. I've just got to catch my breath, is all." Standing together, Xora bowed her head to the captain in thanks. "I'm honored to know that you worry about my well-being, Captain. Thank you." She turned to leave, cheeks burning under the intense gaze of those slate eyes, but he stopped her with a simple question.

"Xora," he addressed in a quiet tone. "I have a few things I need to ask of you."

"Yes, Levi?" she answered without turning around.

"Last night Alan released an invitation to all of the competitors for a casual party that is to take place tonight. One was for me, of course, competitor or not, and another came for you. It seems he has his eyes on you."

"I have noticed. What is it you need?"

"I am to go tonight, at midnight. Very many of the competitors will be there and I still have the need to meet several of them. Will you accompany me?"

Xora was silent for a few tense moments, and she could feel Levi's gaze piercing straight through the back of her skull. "...I have already told you, Levi, assignments like these are not my strengths. It would be best if you don't send me on these things - but because you have requested it beforehand, I have no right to refuse you. Yes, I will attend."

"And one last thing," Levi interjected before Xora had taken another step. "Do you remember?"

Turning only her head to glance at Levi from the side, Xora kept her face stoic and expressionless, though she felt the urge to wrinkle her brows together at the thought. "Remember? Remember what?"

"Ah, I see, then. It's nothing." Shuffling ahead of her, Levi exited the library with his hands buried deep in his pockets; before he had completely left Xora's confused view, he stopped for a millisecond to say, "See you tonight."

But as his warmth left the library in a cold, frigid state, Xora did not leave it that way.

This man named "Levi", this man who proclaimed himself to be "Rivaille", was not who she thought he was.

From this point on, she had two choices.

One, to be the oblivious, innocent woman everyone claimed her to be, and complete this mission with the easiest road to success.

Or, two, to complete this mission with a few bumps here and there, and not only that, but to complete her real reason she came all the way to Paris: the find out her past. And while she did that, she was going to dig as deep into Levi's past as possible, to find out all of the secrets he had hidden behind that thin wall of glass called his eyes.


	12. Code XII: Jacque Germaine

Glancing at the miniature watch bonded around her left wrist, Xora read 11:59 PM, the manor dark as she leaned her back against the wall besides the front door leading outside. Shortly after Levi had dismissed her earlier that day, Eren had delivered what would be the most casual outfit Xora had ever worn in years.

It consisted of a simple white tank that hugged her curves in all of the right places, a pair of tan cuffed shorts tucking in the shirt. On her feet she donned large, dark brown boots, several bracelets decorated her wrists, and large golden hooped earrings dangled from her ear lobes. Running her fingers loosely through her hair, she untangled whatever she could, having had been unable to style her hair or makeup in any way without Hanji's help. In all honesty, she had never even touched makeup or any hair styling product in her entire life, besides the day Hanji had dolled her up. Even then, it was still wonders, how the eccentric woman had gotten someone like Xora's eyes to become so similar to kaleidoscopes.

"This is an image I'll have to get used to," Levi commented, jerking Xora out of her thoughts. She looked up, bowing in greeting as Levi trotted to the bottom of the left staircase. "There's no need for formalities, as I've said. We are equals on this mission; you're as great an agent as I'll ever be, and even greater."

"Thank you," Xora said briskly, lifting her head. "You're looking not too shabby yourself, must I say, Levi." In truth, he was even more tempting in those loose black jeans and collared shirt than in his suit. His hair was ruffled and unkempt, completely opposite of what it was the night of the gala at the Louvre, but it made Xora feel the urge to run her fingers through his dark strands.

"Before we leave," Levi stated, once again pulling Xora out of her daydreaming. She shook her head to reawaken her keen senses, internally scolding herself for losing focus so easily. "I have something to give you." Reaching into the front right pocket of his pants, he pulled out the most astonishing thing he could have - a ring. A beautiful, prism-shaped diamond the size of a pencil eraser, encrusted onto an intricately engraved gold band.

"Wha - ?" Xora gasped, gaping at the expensive-looking piece of jewelry in his hands. Then her eyes went straight to Levi's to see if he was joking around, but by the way his deathly pale cobalt hues glittered, she could see he was by no means joking around. Lifting up her hands, she waved them around in protest, shaking her head. "Levi, I know our aliases are married, but I really didn't expect you go to and buy a ring!"

Levi snorted, a small grin appearing on the corner of his lips before disappearing as he spoke. "No, idiot, these are specially made for the Iridescent Empire. They're communication devices; if you push down on the diamond hard enough, it sends a signal directly to a ring I have, and alerts me of your location. It's a tool that can only be used once, because after it gives out the signal, it self-destructs in case it falls into the wrong hands and can track the signal. So, only use it in the case of an emergency. I have one too, see." Reaching into his pocket again, he pulled out a ring that looked exactly like the one he had designated for Xora, only without the gigantic diamond.

After he slipped his ring on his left ring finger, he held out his hand expectantly. Reluctantly, Xora reached over and let him take hold of her left hand. His touch was surprisingly gentle, hands warm as he held her's for a few moments, eyes glued onto their hands. Slowly, he slid the ring onto her finger, fingertips softly brushing against her skin.

"There," Levi murmured softly, lifting her hand to his face. "It's the perfect fit,  _mon amour_." Then, before Xora could react, Levi pressed his lips to the pale skin of her knuckles, pink lips sending sparks through her body where they met her skin. Xora, sensitive to human touch, winced when he did so, her entire body flinching vehemently. On reflex, she instantly retracted her hand, holding it in her other, the cold metal of the new ring making her extremely aware of her so-called "status". Unfortunately, as hard as she tried to mask it, Levi noticed immediately, frowning when she tried to cover it up with an extremely strained smile.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, eyes seeming like they'd pierced straight through her soul. "We cannot be like this in the party, especially in front of others. It could pose as too many problems in the future."

"I - I - I'm sorry," Xora apologized, keeping her face stone hard by digging her nails into her inner forearm. "I am giving it my best, Levi, but I can't seem to be as socially polite as others. I am sorry for it, but I will try harder from now on."

"Do you need more practice?" Levi inquired in a soothing voice, his tone making him even more alluring than he already was towards Xora. After a few silent moments of frantic contemplating, she gulped audibly and slowly nodded once ever so slightly.

"Y - yes," she stuttered. "I will t - try my best."

"It alright, there's no need to be scared," Levi comforted, taking a small step forward. Though it was not that big of a movement, Xora could already feel his body warmth radiating off of him. "To help with your comfort, where would you like to start?" When Xora only stayed silent, her mind struggling to comprehend the question, he offered, "There's holding hands, hugging, cuddling, kissi - "

"Hug," Xora interjected, flushing when he dared to venture as far as kissing. Did people normally kiss others they had only met two weeks ago? Did people normally kiss at all? "H - hug me." Shutting her eyes tight, Xora braced herself for the foreign touch, barricading herself for the strange feeling of something like an embrace.

Levi stepped forward again, venturing even closer, and wrapped his arms around her waist and lower back. He pressed her close to his chest, the height of Xora's lips lining up to only his jawline. Overwhelmed by feeling of another, Xora froze, soaking in Levi's warmth like a sponge; it was soft and cozy like a blanket, a feeling she wanted to spend an eternity in. For a reason she couldn't place, she felt as if she'd felt this before, this warmth, and this feeling, but it was too far away for her to grasp.

"When someone hugs you, it's normal to hug them, too," Levi instructed, his hot breath tickling her ear. Her shoulders stiffened at the strange new sensation, but she mustered up enough courage to wiggled her crushed arms out from in between their bodies, slowly snaking it upwards to wrap around his neck and shoulders. It was such a new thing to her, to embrace someone so closely, and in the back of her head, she had the haunting sensation to not ever grow so attached to someone, but it was Levi, and she couldn't resist.

They stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, but only a minute had passed of the two simply standing there and breathing in each other's presences.

"Is... is this how you do it?" Xora finally stuttered, cheeks on fire.

"Tch..." Levi sounded, giving Xora a tight squeeze for a few more moments before he finally let go. "Yeah, you did it perfectly, but you ruined the moment. I was enjoying it, Xora." His words left Xora with her jaw hanging, but he strode out of the front door without another glance backwards towards an awaiting taxi. Blinking in awe, Xora was wordless, simply dragging her feet sluggishly behind her as she slipped outside and shut the door, making sure to lock it right afterwards.

Levi actually  _enjoyed_  their embrace?

\---

The ride to the private club in the beautiful city of Paris was not a long one - precisely twelve minutes as Xora had counted. Levi paid the taxi driver and thanked him in French before assisting Xora out of the car, taking her hand in his to pull her away from the seat. As the yellow car pulled away, Xora drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, settling her buzzing nerves. Going to a formal gala was one thing, and to a club where there would be blaring music, dancing crowds and alcohol everywhere, another.

"You'll be fine," Levi reassured her, winding their fingers together. The notion made Xora's shoulders stiffen, but she relaxed as she put on the most casual face she could. "Just remember to stick by me, and don't take anything anyone gives you, no matter what." Xora gave him a small nod, and together, they entered the club, into the night life.

The moment Xora stepped into the dark building, an explosion of lights bombarded her view, temporarily blinding her. She reflexively raised her free arm to cover her face, her sharp sense of hearing overwhelmed with the thrumming bass of an energetic song. The atmosphere was stuffy and humid to the point where Xora felt as if she were suffocating, a sour smell of human sweat and bitter alcohol burning the inside of her nostrils. To her aid, Levi brought her back to reality by pulling on her arm, fingers still tightly woven together. Though on a regular basis she would've torn her hand away, she was thankful to have someone familiar with these kinds of things with her.

As Levi pulled Xora through the swaying bodies of dancing people, he occasionally turned to shout something to Xora, but the music was much too loud, leaving her to read what she could off of his lips. With the flickering colorful strobe lights, though, she could recognize nothing.

Finally, the couple reached the very back of the vast room, where another section was cut off with a red rope, a large, buff bodyguard standing besides the entrance. Looking past the guard, Xora could spot the VIP section filled with many women dressed in skimpy clothing, and quite a few intoxicated men with empty glasses in their hands. She made eye contact with none other than the host, Alan Clark, and he sauntered over immediately, the red wine in his glass sloshing from side to side with every step he took. It occurred as strange to her, for someone to be drinking such a thing at a party like this, but she decided that perhaps it was because of the fact that she rarely came to socializing parties.

" _Seraphina_!" Alan greeted with a large grin, shoving the bodyguard out of the way to meet the dark-haired woman. " _Fantaisie vous rencontrer ici, Je suis tellement contente que tu sois est venu!_ "  **[Seraphina! Fancy meeting you here, I'm so glad you came.]** Leaning over, he took her free hand and placed a slippery kiss on her knuckles, a trace of the wine left on her pale skin. Again, it took all of her willpower to not slap his face away and vigorously wipe the back of her hand on the base of her shorts.

" _Je dois vous remercier pour l'invitation_ ," Seraphina thanked him in seamless French, bowing her head. " _Bien, je n'ai pas assisté à ces sortes d'événements beaucoup_.  _Êtes-vous bien? Quelque chose est arrivé à votre mento?"_ **[I must thank you for the invitation. Though, I do not attend these types of events much.]** Alan's face seemed to flush even more when Xora had pointed out the small bandage concealed with caked on makeup on his jutted out chin. Pulling on a very forced smile, Alan's eyes glittered with a faint hatred as he shook his head in denial.

Xora's grip on Levi's hand tightened greatly as Alan leaned in closer, the alcohol now strongly overpowering her crisp sense of smell. She halted breathing through her nose and instead resumed through her lips, unable to bear this man's presence any longer.

" _Pourquoi ne pas introduire de certains de vos amis à nous_?" Levi urged in his perfect French tongue, stepping in front of Xora whilst still keeping their fingers locked. His eyes darkened the moment they met the blonde's. " _Ma femme, Seraphina, et j'aimerais parler à certains de vos collègues et compagnons s'ils sont également présents_."  **[Why don't you introduce us to some of your friends?** ** _My_** **wife, Seraphina, and I would love to meet some of your colleagues and companions.]**

" _Pourquoi, bien sûr, Monsieur Rivaille_ ," Alan trilled, his hungry gaze flickering back to Xora's indifferent expression before he turned, whipping the tail of his jacket. Beckoning them forward, Xora and Levi slowly trekked their way through a few masses of people here and there, but luckily, there were much fewer people in the section rather than out on the regular dance floor.  **[Why, of course, Mr. Rivaille.]**

First, Alan led the two over to a pudgy man sitting in the farthest left corner of the VIP section, the top of his shiny head bald, his sideburns extremely dark. Beside him sat two women dressed in bright red lingerie, both of the platinum-blonde women giggling over the man whilst he sprinkled wads of hundred dollar bills over their quite bare bodies.

" _Alan_!" the man greeted with a crooked smile, showing cracked, yellow teeth. " _Est-ce de la belle poupée, vous avez parlé_?" He sniggered and chugged down the rest of his deep brown drink, handing the glass to the woman on his right to go and refill. " _Elle certainement ne correspond pas à ma agrémentée Stella et Lissette_!"  **[Alan! Is this the beautiful doll you told me about? She most certainly does not match up to my gorgeous Stella and Lissette!]**

Xora watched as Levi's face flickered into a dark glower momentarily, his grip on Xora's hand tightening in anger towards the snide remark the man had made.

"Calm," she reminded him, whispering into his ear. "Remember, keep 'Rivaille' up to his name." When her cool breath hit the skin of his ear, his stiff shoulders relaxed and he resumed to keep on a bored face, but the hold on her hand did not dare to loosen.

"Jacque Germaine," Alan laughed, pointing at the woman to his left. " _Seraphina est plus beau que tous vos vingt femmes confondus_!" Turning to Levi and Xora, Alan waved a hand to the quite large man with lustrous eyes, his beady gaze slithering up and down Xora's frame. "Rivaille, Seraphina,  _c'est Jacque Germaine, le propriétaire de l'Organisation Wellworks. Il est l'un des principaux concurrents pour le Mona Lisa, comme moi, mais nous sommes certainement le plus grand des amis, surtout depuis la septième année_!"  **[Jacque Germaine, Seraphina is more beautiful than all of your twenty women combined! Rivaille, Seraphina, this is Jacque Germain, the owner of the Wellworks Oranization. He is one of the top competitors for the Mona Lisa, like me, but even though, we have been the greatest of friends since the seventh grade!]**

" _Quelle merveille_ ," Xora remarked, pulling on the most believable smile she could.  **[How wonderful.]**

"Ah!" Jacque exclaimed as one of his side partners from returned, handing over another refilled glass into his sausage-like fingers. His wide eyes were glued onto Xora's grinning face, dark cheeks turning a deeper red. " _Je vois maintenant! Elle est vraiment tout à fait la beauté, Alan_!"  **[I see it now! She really is quite the beauty, Alan!]**

Quite unexpectedly, he stood, his height towering far beyond that of Levi's and Xora's. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat, his other hand grabbing Xora's. Pulling out a very,  _very_  thick wad of cash that must've added up to at least a million, he placed the binded pile into the palm of Xora's hand, a sly grin on his alcohol stained lips. Stella and Lissette, from behind, flashed her deathly glares, their eyes ticking between her unamused face and the wad of money they'd been trying to earn for the past hour or so.

" _Ma belle Seraphina,_ " the man spoke with a curdling, deep voice. " _Pourquoi ne quittez-vous pas votre homme à vos côtés, et venez rejoindre le mien? Je vous assure que vous serez bien vêtu et nourri, pour ne pas mentionner payé_."  **[My beautiful Seraphina. Why don't you leave this man by your side, and join mine? I assure you that you will be well clothed and fed, not to mention paid.]**

" _Pourquoi, bien sûr_ ," Xora cooed, grinning her forced smile again. " _Mais seulement pour ce soir, mon brave homme, et nous ferons tout ce que je préfère_."  **[Why of course. But only for tonight, my good man, and we will do whatever** ** _I_** **prefer.]**

Jacque's round face lit up the moment her answer reached his ears, and using his thick fingers, he wrapped Xora's thin ones around the wad before turning away, striding towards a door at the other side of the room. Before he had left her view, he mentioned, " _Merveilleux, merveilleux! Je vais vous répondre en chambre privée numéro quatre_."  **[Wonderful, wonderful! I will meet you in private room number four.]**

Patting off her shirt, Xora slipped the cash into her back pocket before she turned to go after the man. Levi's hand in her's, of course, stopped her from going.

"What the hell are you doing?" he growled, eyes swimming with confusion and astonishment. "Why did you accept so easily?"

"Please, relax, Levi," Xora whispered lowly under her breath. "I slipped some truth serum into my pocket before we'd left. I don't intend to do anything with this man besides talk. This is something in my area of specialty; I will pull all of the intel I can out of him before I leave him intoxicated."

"And what if he tries to do something to you? I can't help you then."

"I ask you to place some of your trust and faith into me." And with that, she gave his hand one last squeeze before she turned, hair swaying as she made her way over to Private Room number four.


	13. Code XIII: Sacrifice Comes With Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am one sick, twisted bitch. Note: things get a little graphic. You shoulda seen this coming.

"Wait!" Levi growled, catching up to Xora just as she had arrived in front of the designated room. "Xora, what are you going to do?! Don't tell me..."

"I have asked several times before, Levi, that you do not speak my name when there are others around," Xora stated bluntly, a pang of irritation creeping into her voice. "I ask that you do not - "

"You're going to seduce him, aren't you?"

For a brief moment, shock covered Xora's face, but she quickly masked it and turned away. "...There are things you must do as an agent for the Iridescent Empire, codename 'Survey Corps'. This is one of those things I must do; it is the reason why trained to do so."

Levi's hand latched onto her wrist, his face twisted into a pout in a somewhat childlike manner. "I don't want to see that filthy man's hands on you! Especially when he is drunken like he is!"

"And do you think I  _want_  to partake in this? Neither do I want to touch such a man, but things must be done if it is to benefit the IE. For that, I am willing to do anything. Aside from that, Commander Erwin is always complaining about low funds. I have just earned some." She pulled out the large wad of cash and shoved it into Levi's chest, her crystal eyes flashing, cutting straight though his steel gaze like a knife in butter. "Besides, Levi, you underestimate the fact that I am fully capable of protecting myself in such a situation." And before he could protest more, Xora wrenched her wrist from his grip and slipped into the private room, making sure to close and lock the door behind her.

The inside smelled of a strong, musty cologne and stunk of sweat and alcohol. It was barely lit with a few dozen rose-scented candles, their embers flickering slowly to a death. The very man she'd been looking for had changed out of his clothing and was now waiting in the center of a canopy bed, apparently naked, only a thin deep velvet red sheet covering the lower half of his body. Jacque was both sipping a highly intoxicated drink from a tall, thin wine glass, and smoking a cigar. It took much of her strength to keep a stern face full of fake lust rather than to wrinkle her nose and gag audibly.

" _Vous êtes arrivés, mon beau bijou_ ," Jacque drawled, eyes half-lidded and hungry. " _Sourire pour moi_." **[You have arrived, my beautiful jewel. Smile for me.]** His pudgy fingers slowly curled inwards, beckoning her towards the bed. Sucking in a quiet breath, Xora stepped forward, trailing her heels, fingers concealing a small vial of truth serum created by the IE she'd slipped out of her pocket on the way in. It wasn't a magical potion that forced its victim to spit out every honest answer in their head, but a liquid that contained chemicals engineered to tamper with the frontal lobe of the brain, allowing for someone like an agent to access answers.

Though it did as it was intended, it did have side effects such as nausea, fatigue and disorientation. There was also a time limit; over the span of approximately fifteen minutes, the drinker would become gradually more and more disoriented to the point where they would pass out. When their body was unconscious, the chemicals in the concoction would infiltrate the hippocampus and distort the memories to make it the events seem as if they were all jumbled and distorted, merely a dream that they'd only remembered a small fragment of.

" _Mais d'abord, un verre,_ " Xora urged, turning to a pair of glasses filled to the brim with a deep berry wine.  **[But first, a drink.]**  Her back blocking Jacque's view, she rolled her fingertip on the cap of the index-finger-sized vial, the plastic piece falling to the floor and rolling under the bed. Tipping over the small glass container with a dip of her hand, she poured all of the contents into the glass, making sure to get every last drop. When it emptied entirely, the vial slipped from her hands and fell to the plush fur carpet before rolling it onto the tile. Xora crushed it with her heel, not wanting to cause suspicion by bending over to pick it up.

" _Fille intelligente,_ " Jacque mused, gladly taking the contaminated glass as Xora handed it over, herself settling into the satin red blanket beside him. " _Quelle merveilleuse façon de commencer une belle nuit, avec des boissons de luxe. Laissez-nous trinquons_!"  **[Smart girl! What a marvelous way to start off a beautiful night, with such luxurious drinks. Let us toast!]**

Slicking on a smile, Xora nodded and let her glass knock against Jacque's with a quiet  _tink_ , the clear sound ringing in the air for a few moments until it was interrupted with the sound of Jacque's loud gulps. Mimicing the motion, Xora tipped back her head and brought the glass to her lips, but opposite of what Jacque though she'd done, she rapidly jerked back her arm, the expensive drink raining down on the rug below. Though it did make a slight pattering sound, it was unnoticable through the satisfied sigh Jacque gave when he finished his last down. Wiping a corner of the rim on the corner of her lips, a few drops caught on her skin to pose as remnants of a nice down, and Xora acted as if she'd just swigged her entire glass.

" _Une telle boisson agréable, ceci est,_ " Jacque marvelled, letting his glass slip from his hand and fall to the floor as the effects of the concoction began to seep in. " _Il est tout à fait froid, vous êtes en désaccord, joyau? Venez, je vous donne la permission de me embrasser_."  **[Such a nice drink. It is quite chilly tonight, wouldn't you agree? Come, I give you permission to embrace me.]** His beady, dark eyes became much cloudier and fogged, body slacked and caving deeping into the large pillows. Crawling forward, Xora grit her teeth and swore one last time that she'd scrub down her body as soon as she pressed her side up against Jacque's his heavy arm wrapping around her waist. She strongly resisted a shiver, hating the sweat that slicked off of his skin and onto hers. A tremble ran through Jacque, the vibrations echoing into all of the hollow parts of Xora's body.

" _Vous sentez-vous bien, mon brave homme_?" Xora asked, her voice full of convincing concern. " _Vous êtes devenu pâle_."  **[Are you feeling well, my good man? Your face has become pale.]**  

"Je suis parfaitement bien," he answered, voice wavering as he attempted to run his fingertips along Xora's sharp jawline, instead his hand slipping back down to flop in between their bodies. "Maintenant, mon beau bijou, il serait beaucoup plus à l'aise si nous avons apparié en tenue. Voulez-vous de prendre vos propres vêtements?"  **[I am perfectly fine. Now, my beautiful jewel, it would be much more comfortable if we matched in attire. Would you care to take off your own garments?]**

With a shake of her head, she answered, "Je suis beaucoup trop timide."  **[I am much too shy.]**

"Que puis-je faire pour que tu me traites comme un ami? Plutôt, un amant? Il est facile à enlever vos vêtements lorsque avec un amant, correct?"  **[What can I do to make you treat me as a friend? Rather, a lover? It is not hard to remove your clothing when with a lover, correct?]**

Looking deep into his eyes with her ocean-colored ones, she said simply, "Mettons-nous à mieux se connaître. Je suis sûr que vous êtes un homme merveilleux. Puis-je vous poser quelques questions?"  **[Let us get to know each other better. I am sure you are a wonderful man. May I ask you a few questions?]**

" _Comme si c'était fait. Demandez loin._ " Laying his head back against the top of the bouncy pillows, Jacque's eyelids dropped even lower, gaze becoming unfocused and he stared, dazed, at the cieling.  **[Consider it done. Ask away.]**

As she spoke, voice smooth and sly, Xora trailed the tip of her index finger over the base of Jacque's thick neck. " _Avez-vous entendu les nouvelles de la Mona Lisa d'être capturé récemment? Ce ne fut pas nouvelles rendu public, mais comme un concurrent, je suis sûr qu'ils vous avertis_."  **[Have you heard the news of the Mona Lisa's kidnapping? It was not news released to the public, but as a competitor, I'm assure they alerted you.]**

" _Je dois certainement plus_!" Jacque answered with confidence, his thick mustache quivering against his top lip. " _En fait, je suis l'un des cinq qui ont collaboré à l'enlèvement! Tout un exploit, vous ne croyez pas? Bien après la peinture a disparu, je suis afriad je perdu tout lien avec elle_."  **[I most certainly have! In fact, I am one of the five who collaborated in the kidnapping! Quite a feat, wouldn't you agree? Although, after the painting disappeared, I'm afraid I lost all connection with it.]** Though his words were ones of confidence and hard work, his voice was becoming frailer, the arm around Xora's waist losing strength. It weighed tons on her waist, locking herself even closer to his body.

"Oh? _Qui d'autre était impliqué plus de vous et Alan_?"  **[Oh? Who else was involved besides you and Alan?]**

" _Deux femmes et un homme_ ; Emmaline Blanchet, Marielle Desjardins  _et_  Salomon Lamar."  **[Two women and a man; Emmaline Blanchet, Marielle Desjardins, and Solomon Lamar.]**

A bell rang in Xora's head the moment she heard the name Emmaline, her memories dating as far back to the gala weeks ago; Emmaline was he woman who had forced her to sing onstage while Levi sang! The one who wore the skimpy black dress, her face caked with loads of powdered makeup and rouge lips. Pursing her lips, Xora bit back a sigh when she realized she only had mere minutes left until Jacque would lose consciousness.

" _Qui est la personne qui a peint le tableau de la contrefaçon? Pouvez-vous me dire qui a transporté l'original sur le musée et qui l'a remplacé_?"  **[** **Who is the person who painted the counterfeit painting? Can you tell me who transported the original out of the museum and who replaced it?]**

" _Le nom de l'artiste est Sylvane Piquet,_ " Jacque slurred, voice now just barely a whisper. " _Quant à savoir qui a fait le transport, je ne sais pas. Tout ce que je suis conscient de est que les quatre autres avaient principalement prévu sur la prise de la peinture, mais je sauté dans le train en marche à la dernière minute_."  **[** **The artist's name is Sylvane Piquet. As for who did the transporting, I do not know. All I am aware of is that the other four had mainly planned on taking the painting, though I jumped in the bandwagon at the very last minute.]**

"Jacque - " Xora started, glancing at her watch to find there was a mere ten seconds left until his predicted time of falling under - but she was caught by surprise when a surge of strength belonging to Jacque flipped her onto her side. Gasping, all of the air was expelled from her lungs when Jacque suddenly ended up on top of her, naked, sweaty-drenched body crushing her petite one. A small cry tore from her throat when he attempted to rip off a strap of her tank, but paused in the middle of it.

"Seraphina,  _je l'aime_  - " he started, but he was silenced with a sudden shudder and finally fell limp, completely crushing Xora's body between himself and the bed they laid on.  **[Seraphina, I love - ]**

Mind whirring and heart racing, a spurt of adrenaline allowed Xora to twist her torso under Jacque's bare, steaming body, shuddering when she felt something hard poke against her thigh. She wrestled with the folds of fat against Jacque's abdomen and gave a loud grunt when she shoved him off of her, scooting away immediately. Her skin tingled; the feeling of this man touching her, be it just his hands or his body completely disgusted her. Sanity still uneven, she scooted backwards on the bed, away from the limp form of Jacque Germaine until she careened over the bed's edge, plummeting to the floor.

Pain blossomed in her back and bottom when she landed, but her eyes were still wide, shades of astonishment and fear stuck in her hues of azure. Her chest rose and fell quickly, unable to control her hyperventilatin. Using her hands and heels, she still dragged herself backwards, sharp pains traveling up her arm when her palm landed in the pile of broken glass shards from earlier. Carrying the shard in her torn skin, she resisted checking to see if she was okay, but because her mind was still running full speed, she did not stop moving until her back smacked against the left wall of the room. Only then did she stop and glance at her bleeding left palm, right hand wrapped tightly around her left wrist. She had the urge to run; the urge to get away from this place as fast as possible, as fast as the light could take her.

This was by far the hardest mission she'd even embarked on; the disgusting,  _putrid_  man dared to touch her, and she'd relented, though it was for the Iridescent Empire. Even so, shivers still danced upon her simmering skin when she remembered the way Jacque's fingertips slowly graced her skin, the member poking at her bare thigh less than a minute ago. Her hatred for being touched flared even stronger than before, bigger than an untamable wildfire upon a bare forest in the scorching summer sun.

Unable to calm her breathing nor her shattering sanity, Xora clutched her long bangs, pulling at them and whimpering pitifully. She desperately,  _desperately_ needed help - but where in the entire world would she find it? 

A thought appeared in her jumbled mind and her fingers trembled as they reached over to her left hand, where the ring still sat snugly around her ring finger. It took immense strength to make the pad of her index finger push down on the diamond, a faint  _click_  sounding as the diamond popped off and revealed a miniscule red button engraved into the gold. Using her nail, Xora reluctantly pushed the button, hoping the outcome would be as she expected.

Feeling utterly filthy and contaminated, she pulled her knees up and rested her forearms on her knees, leaning her forehead on her arms as she waited for 'him'. She was still trembling, mouth dry and like sandpaper;  she could not forget the feeling of Jacque's disgusting hands touching her.

On the brink of a breakdown, Xora's voice quavered when she weakly called out 'his' name, waiting for his arrival, unable to save her pitiful self.

"Levi..."

And surely enough, not even a moment later, the door burst open and shut within a split second, an alarmed Levi appearing. His chest heaved and his posture looked tense; gaze averting over to the naked, sprawled body of Jacque Germaine, his silver eyes widened then flickered over to where Xora sat staring against the far wall, arms wrapped around herself. Feet moving by themselves, he was by her in no time, crouching down to meet her face to face. His hands roughly grabbed her wrists, holding them up, allowing him to eye her with surprise and concern.

"Xora," he whispered, stone eyes softening when they saw the fear in those crystals of Xora's. "...What happened in here?


	14. Code XVI: Sleeping Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, things are a tiny bit graphic in the beginning. Please take note.

"Levi," Xora whimpered, wincing when Levi turned her left palm, picking at the glass shards deeply dug into her soft flesh. "Hey... that h - hurts."

  
"Tell me what happened," he demanded, "if you don't tell me, I'm going to fucking slit that man's throat."

  
"Levi - "

  
"Fuck it." He abruptly stood and swiped something from his back pocket, a glint of metal flashing when a sharp blade snapped up from a small pocket knife. Spinning around at light speed, a look of fury crossed Levi's face, his arm pulled back then snapping forward. The small blade flew like a dart and faster than the blink of an eye, lodged itself straight through Jacque's left temple. The speed at which it was thrown was so fast, it continued straight through his head until only the tip of the handle was visible through the blood that gushed out.

  
Xora sat, stunned, a look of astonishment glued onto her face. Levi had, yet again, killed another human being without a second thought - and this time it was not out of justice or safety; it was out of fury. A personal, normal emotion all humans felt - and just that small push threw him over the edge, driving him to kill someone. A dash of fear overtook her when a brief memory flashed across her mind; a knife, a large, large knife. One stained greatly with splotches of dropping blood, the tip pointed straight toward her.

  
"Xora!" Levi shouted, drawing Xora back to attention. She blinked to find herself back in the private room, Levi's crouched body looming over her with an alarmed expression on his face. Over his shoulder, she could just barely make out the surprised face of one of the women who had accompanied Jacque's side earlier. The woman's hands - Stella, or Lissette, was it - flew to her face and a shrill scream tore from her throat. It resonated loudly over the thrumming music. One of her finely manicured nails pointed at Jacque's bare, unmoving body, the blood pooling around is head, and she screamed again, this time in French. Xora could only decipher a few words, them being "help", "murder" and "killers".

  
"Let's leave," Levi commanded, dragging Xora to her feet. Without a second thought, the two bolted past the woman, too fast for her to recognize their faces - though it wouldn't be to hard to guess who had been in the room with Jacque at the time of his death. Levi and Xora hustled through the still drunken and dancing people, squeezing through grinding couples and sweaty dancers. One by one, the people began to turn their heads, gazes facing straight towards the VIP section where the murder had occurred. And, one by one, screams added to one another until it became a race for the exit doors.

  
Xora and Levi, fortunately, had an advantage, the two of them already at the front doors. They burst through and immediately began charging left, racing through the dark streets until they encountered a dark alleyway. Slipping through, together they found cover beside a large green dumpster. Levi sat with his back against the crevice between the brick building by them and the dumpster, Xora enveloped in his arms tightly. Her heart pounded; the night air was filled with screams echoing from streets away, several voices shouting for the police.

  
Leaning his head back against the wall, Levi's chest heaved, arms still tightly holding Xora's trembling body with his fingers balled around the thin fabric of her shirt.

  
"Levi," Xora stated in a surprisingly unwavering voice. "You killed him... !"

  
"That's not important!" he growled in response, narrowed eyes flashing as he released his tense hold around her. "What is, is that you tell me what went on in there!"

  
The few moments of the past events moved through Xora's head like a movie reel, the scene played out with all of her five senses tingling; eyes seeing only patches of skin, ears filled with the slurred french, the sour smell of alcohol and sweat still burning her nostrils. Worst of all, the skin she felt against her skin - it was dirty, disgusting, a feeling that sent her into a fit of shivers. Clenching onto Levi's shirt even tighter, she whispered, "...He tried to do something vile."

  
"Vile? As in - "

  
"I don't even know what happened. It happened so quickly, and I wasn't expecting it, especially with the fact that I had already given him the serum!" She pushed Levi away and scooted backwards, hugging herself, when the memory of something against her thigh again reflected in her mind's eyes. "That man... I shouldn't be, but I am glad he is dead. Even if you had to kill him for it to be possible."

  
"At least tell me what he did!" Levi burst out, running his hands through his hair in distress. "If I don't know what happened, all I will do is fucking stress about it, and it makes me want to go back and torture his dead body until it is nothing but specks of shit I feed to the sharks!"

"I already told you," Xora sighed, shaking her head. She quietly lifted her head, gaze still stuck on the ground. "Levi, will you hold me?"

  
The fretting man was caught rather off guard, freezing the moment Xora's request slipped past her lips. He lowered his hands and looked over where she sat a few feet away, wide eyes locked onto her pale face. Her eyes were shamefully cast downwards, lips pursed with cheeks flushed a deep rose. With no hesitation, he crawled forward on his hands and knees, immediately enveloping her in his muscular arms again. This time, her body was not rigid and tense, but it softly melted against Levi, her head buried into his shoulder. Leaning his cheek into her hair, he squeezed her tighter, letting out a small sigh.

  
"I'm just glad you're alright," he breathed, shoulders hunched over. "When I got that alert, I was so scared something worse had happened, I must've knocked over at least ten other people while scrambling for the room."

  
"I - I'm alright," Cora reassured him, slowing her breathing. "Just shaken, but what ever happened was necessary for me to get the information I received."

  
"We can discuss that later when we're in privacy with shitty four-eyes and Eren. For now, I'm going to say I told you so. I knew something was going to go wrong, and yet..." He growled in anger. "I shouldn't have just left you; I'm the biggest fucking idiot, aren't I?"

  
"Don't fret over it," Xora coaxed gently, withdrawing a few centimeters to gaze into his tormented stare, dark lashes hiding her own wondrous, silent orbs. "Thank you for coming, Levi. I don't think I - I would've been able to recover if you hadn't come." The tiniest, thankful smile curled on her lips before falling back into a straight line, but Levi easily caught it and nearly smiled himself.

  
"Why the hell wouldn't I come? I promised you, back then, that I'd always come, no matter what." With a finger, he caressed her cheek, soft touch trailing along her jawline to entangle with one of her silky strands. "That is why I asked; you do remember, don't you? You remember every single detail, but the only thing that carried through was your mind of a child shutting away the traumatizing memories."

  
"Levi, what are you talking abou - "

  
"Xora, think back. The snow - you wondered why it wouldn't grant your wish."

  
"My wish...?"

  
"Lean against me again," Levi beckoned, snugly cradling Xora in his arms like blankets. "Close your eyes, and think. Think back to that winter."

  
"But there are dangers around here," Xora murmured, still aware of the police sirens blaring in the distance. "If we get caught, I can do little to nothing to help you. If we get discovered, even, it's surely a strange sight to find two people hidden in an alley so late at night."

  
"Hush," Levi shushed, slowly rocking back and forth, balancing their bodies with his hips and the heels of his shoes. "I said, close your eyes and try to remember. The snow. Remember the snow."  
"The... snow," Xora uttered in a hushed voice, complying to Levi's soothing words. "Remember... the snow."

  
\---

  
_December._

  
_That meant gray, fluffy clouds covering the canvas of the sky with a layer of dullness. Little puffs of chilled water particles floated down from the heavens, covering the earth below in a blanket of frigid cold. Every person lining the streets were bundled, even the pigments and shades of coats and boots bringing the mellow atmosphere into a stormy level._

  
_Everybody, except for the blazing peach jacket belonging to a little girl, one with boots matching the shade of her irises; an electric azure, curious pale specks dotting the ocean-colored hues. Her perked nose was tinted rose, cheeks matching the same color as they puffed with the small clouds of steam she breathed. In her gloved hands she held a small white daisy wrapped with a thin piece of clear plastic, the open ends secured with a pastel plum ribbon tied into a bow._

  
_Stepping forward, the little girl approached the automatic doors of the pristine, white hospital, scampering inside when the doors slid aside. Curiously glancing around, she spotted the receptionist's desk, mainly only noticing because the woman behind it was the only other being there._

  
_"Hello," the woman greeted kindly when the child approached, leaning o_ _ver the table top to see the face of the brave young one. "How can I help you today?"_

 

_"I'm here to see my Granny," the small, dark-haired child squeaked, words articulate. "She got into an accident yesterday."_

 

_"Accident?" The chestnut-haired lady tapping notes into her computer before returning to the conversation. "Oh, honey, it looks like your granny isn't ready for visitors yet. Why don't you go into the toy room?"_

  
_"But I have to see my Granny," the little girl insisted, refusing to budge from her spot when the receptionist left her seat to lead her to the toy room. "I have to give her a present and a wish."_

  
_"I'm sorry, but it will have to wait until another day, okay?" The woman began to walk off into a long hallway, the oblivious little girl skittering behind her to catch up with the grown woman's larger strides. Their time together was short and silent, the two coming upon a barely occupied, bland-looking children's play area. Peeking inside, the little girl could only see one other child quietly messing around with a few wooden toy cars._

  
_"Wait here while I call your mommy and daddy to come and get you, okay, honey?" the receptionist instructed._

  
_"But I don't have a mommy and daddy," the girl said lightly, but the woman had already walked away, not catching a single word. Shrugging, the girl skipped over to the other child, dropping to her knees when she reached their side._

  
_"Hi," she introduced, "I'm Xora and I'm seven. What's your name?"_

  
_The other child finally looked up, face revealing that it was, in fact, a boy. A very intimidating boy, at that, with fierce, piercing eyes and a stubborn pout stuck on his lips. Although he did look rather unsociable, his reply was innocent and revealing._

  
_"I'm Levi," the boy said briskly. "I'm... eight." He then turned away coldly and resumed messing around with his toy. Unable to receive his message of 'don't talk to me', Xora pressed onwards._   
_"What are you playing?" she asked, thick lashes covering fluttering when she blinked curiously._   
_"Didn't your parents teach you to not talk to strangers?" Levi snapped, looking up at the young Xora again._

  
_"I don't have parents," the young child answered, cocking her head to the side._

 

  
_Surprised, Levi turned towards her, adjusting himself on his knees. His dark suede pants were covered in small balls of white lint from the carpet. "Aw, now I'm dirty... anyways, where are your parents? Didn't they bring you here?"_

 

_"I said, I don't have parents. I walked here."_

 

  
_"Walked here?! Don't you know how dangerous that is?! There are big, scary people that will take you away from your parents!"_

  
_"I don't have parents," Xora repeated once again. "I only have my Granny." Extending an arm, she held out the daisy towards the retracting boy. "Here. The lady won't let me see my Granny, so you can have this."_

  
_"...What is this?" Levi asked tentatively staring at the_ _strange abomination she held in her gloved hands."_

_"It's a flower, not a bomb!" Hastily grabbing Levi's hand before he could react, she jammed the stem of the bud into his palm and closed his fingers around it. "Pretty, huh?"_

  
_"Pretty..." Levi's expression changed from a scowl to innovation in a split second. He snatched Xora's hand in one and jumped to his feet, dragging her along with him as he began to slip away. "Ooh! Ooh! I wanna show you somethin'!"_

  
_Xora simply dashed as quickly as she could behind him, her boots clunking heavily and noisily on the tiles. She came to a quick stop when Levi shoved open a thick door to reveal a pristine, certainly spotless white room with very little furniture: a small cello, a seat, and a music stand._

  
_"I wanna show you something!" Levi urged, trekking over to the grand instrument. He lifted it gently from its position on the floor and picked up the bow beside his chair, the white hairs strung on the wood a perfect cream color. "Okay, now listen." The young boy closed his eyes and positioned the instrument on his leg, gracefully wrapping his fingers on the end of the boy before letting the hairs hover over the strings. Then, with Xora watching in awe, eyes wide, he laid the hairs on the string, wrist muscles flexed to play the first note of -_  
 _\---_  
"Hn," Xora grunted, blinking when she opened her eyes, only to be blinded with warm sunlight. "What kind of dream was that?" She groaned quietly and rolled over onto her side, feeling the soft silky sheet draping over her body and twisting around her joints. Realization dawning upon her, she shot up, immediately alert and on high end. Her chest heaved, eyes wide as she glanced around frantically, trying to figure out her surroundings - only to find it was her bedroom, back at the Parisian mansion.

"Last night..." she whispered, shaking her head. Stripping from her clothes, she slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting ice cold water fall from the shower head. First dipping one foot into the water, she tested the temperature and felt the frigid cold seep into her body, then dipped into the water. In less than two minutes, she had finished entirely scrubbing her body down with soaps, rinsing, and exiting the shower. With a fluffy ivory towel wrapped around her torso and hips, she secured it with a fold in the center of her chest and wrung out excess water of her hair into the porcelain sink.

Feeling much cleaner and less filthy, Xora stepped back into the bedroom and tentatively headed toward the dresser. She stood in front of it, fingertips hovering over the brass handles. Inside there would be clothing that did not belong to her, clothing that would provide no protection whatsoever, or improve daily performances. These clothes would make her look... normal. They would make her noticeable.

But... she didn't want to be noticed. She wanted to be easily blended into the shadows, to appear invisible.

"I guess I've got no choice," Xora murmured to herself, finally opening the doors to the grand wardrobe. When she finally peered inside, she was completely and utterly thankful to see that there were, in fact, several pairs of dark skin suits - exact copies of her usual one. "Oh, thank goodness." Pulling one out, she dropped her towel and donned the suit, relishing the familiar feel of the flawless second-skin-like material. "Now, that's much better."

Finally exiting her bedroom, she casually trekked down the hallway and down the staircase, continuing down the main, straight hallway, all the way to the Data Room. There, the doors were wide open, the forms of her teammates each hovering over a smaller screen on the net control panel.

"Good morning," she greeted, Hanji and Eren jumping before whipping around, astonished looks on their faces. Levi turned simply stared blankly, arms crossed in front of his chest. "What are you all up to?"

"Archangel!" Hanji greeted nervously, her eyes flickering over to Levi. He stayed silent and glared daggers at the brunette woman, his lips looking prepared to pull back into a sneer. Hanji sighed loudly in exasperation and stalked over to Xora, dropping to her knees when she reached the puzzled woman's feet. "Levi's making me apologize for my... incident yesterday. Sorry, Archangel~!"

"Oh, please," Xora scoffed, helping Hanji back to her feet. "There's no need. Your effort was of high value. Besides, it did give Levi and I time to attend that party and gather information, ourselves."

"You  _what_?" Hanji enunciated, jaw dropping. "You guys used that time to your advantage and went partying  _without_  me?"

"Shut it, shitty four-eyes," Levi spat, leaning back against the large console with his hips. "It's unforgiving for you to have hurt XX like that. As punishment for being reckless and hurting another teammate, we carried out another mission without you - rather, it's a gift for the two of us."

Hanji's looked at Eren, betrayal plainly written across her face. "Eren! Why didn't you tell me?!"

The younger teen hid behind his clipboard, shielding his guilty face. "S - sorry! Heichou told me not to tell you, so I - "

"Leviii!" The older woman pouted and shot Levi the stink eye, stomping over to a wooden table in the center of the large data room. Heaving a sigh, she shrugged and said, "Well! It'd be better not to dwell on it. In fact, Archangel, give me some facts on what you two star-crossed lovers did three days ago!"

"Three days?" Xora repeated, eyebrows shooting upwards. "What do you mean, three days ago?"

"What? I thought you were simply just doing your own thing in the library these past few days."

"No... I haven't woken up since I... I've been asleep for  _three_   _days_?"


	15. Code XV: It Saddens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note edited; I apologize for any grammatical mistakes.

"Then I've... I've deteriorated," Xora whispered, the color draining from her face. "Please, is there a fitness training room here? I believe Commander Erwin had informed me there was a room Levi dedicated to keeping his physique. Please, I - I - " Her mind was whirling, one hand holding her head as she spun and burst out of the room, leaving the other three in shock. Their last sight of her was her form dashing down the long corridor before turning, loud, erratics steps heard as she trampled up the staircases.

"You're a fucking dumbass," Levi seethed to the brunette woman, immediately chasing after Xora with a stoic expression. Halfway down the hallway, he screamed, "I told you not to tell her shit!"

"Oopsies," Hanji chuckled, pulling a loose strand out of her stray ponytail. "I guess it accidentally slipped out, somehow!"

"Oh, Heichou is going to chew us out," Eren sighed, shaking his head. "We didn't even get any information from her like we intended, Hanji."

"I'm sure she'll be fine... right?"

\---

When Levi finally discovered Xora, he found her in the room where he kept all of his exercise equipment. It took him a few minutes to realize she'd found her way there in less than no time, arriving when she was already in the midst of rebuilding her physique. She was on the treadmill, the speed set to ten miles-per-hour with ten pound weights in each hand.

"I don't think it's healthy to immediately push yourself when you just woke up from something like a short-lived coma," Levi sighed, shutting the door behind him with a gentle click.

"I don't see the point in not doing so," Xora panted, increasing her pace to eleven miles-per-hour. Levi stepped forward and pulled the plug belonging to the treadmill out of the power outlet, the machine slowing to a stop. A look of disbelief was plastered onto Xora's face as she stepped off of the machine and set her weights down on a metal rack, setting her fists on her hips. "Please, we need to relay the information you recieved on our... mission to the others. It's of utmost importance right now, and demanding physical fitness is not."

"Levi," Xora coughed, wiping away a bead of sweat from her brow. "You do not understand. With a body like mine, it is important to keep my muscles well-trained and healthy, otherwise I will deteriorate! There is no question that with three days of no physical training, I will surely fail in the event of an emergency!"

"When I'm present, there's no need to worry about the event of an emergency." Grabbing Xora's hand, Levi stood in front of her, face-to-face, though her level of sight was barely a centimeter lower than his. "I'm sorry, Xora. After all you went through, I wish I had another choice, but I don't."

Tensing, Xora bit her bottom lip harshly, a temporary moment of rage flickering over her features, but she instantly melted it away, easing her hand out of his. "No. I should be the one to apologize, Levi. I am sorry for up and leaving the three of you so suddenly. There should be no reason for me to put myself in front of the mission - it seems I have forgotten." The atmosphere dropped ten degrees as she side-stepped him, but before she could reach for the door, Levi snatched her forearm and whipped her back around.

"Xora," he growled, one hand hooking around her lower back to pull her close. Their noses were nearly touching, an electric spark igniting between their gazes. "You should know that I care about you, more than almost all of the people I know. Even though you cannot, I hope you will be able to remember that we carry ourselves far back, farther than you could even imagine. I am usually a loyal man, but with you, I am a traitor to my own feelings."

"What... what are you implying?" Xora said through gritted teeth, attempting to break free from his grasp, but he held tight.

"That is for you to figure out." Leaning in closer, with his lips against her ear, he whispered, "After all, you are mi amour." Then he pulled her in tightly, sending her head back into a whirlwind. Why was he saying such a thing to her, a spy, an agent, simply a co-worker?

"Levi - " He cut her off.

"It truly saddens me when you talk about shitty things, like putting the mission in front of yourself." He twisted his fingers into her hair, embracing her even more tightly. "Please don't do that in front of me. It terrifies me, the thought of losing you."

Rather stunned, Xora simply stood in shock as Levi slowly pulled away, steel eyes donning a wistful look while he exited the room, leaving the door open behind him. Sighing deeply, Xora held her head; when her captain said such words, how was she supposed to respond? The complexity of the affection he showed completely boggled her mind, causing her to be more confused than anything. She was just barely dipping her feet into the waters of socializing, and already she was being battered with tidal waves of interaction.

Not only that... her heart was racing. It made her breath short whenever Levi looked at her that way, his metallic eyes always gleaming with mystery. She'd never experienced such a sensation before; what was it, and what did it mean?

"I need to get back to Hanji," Xora murmured to herself, shaking her head. Swiping a small towel from a hook beside the door, she wiped away the sheen of sweat around her forehead and draped it around her shoulders, exiting the room. Inhaling a deep breath of air, she found her way back to the data room within a few minutes, Hanji and Eren inspecting something on the control nexus below the several screens.

"Hello," she greeted, recalling their attentions. Their brunette heads raised together as they looked up, Hanji bounding over in an instant.

"Archangel!" she cried, grabbing onto one of Xora's hands to lead her to the panel. "Listen, I deeply apologize for absolutely ruining your day earlier, but I'm in dire need of the intelligence you collected, now."

"Actually, I'm the one to apologize. I am sorry for the way I overreacted over something so small; I do hope that you do not mind my outrageous behavior. Such a thing has never happened before... and I assure you, it will never happen again."

"Oh, that's the least of my worries, Archangel. No need to apologize!"

"Getting back on track," Eren cut in slowly, "Archangel, we're going to need you to report all intel recieved on that night." He cleared his throat and readjusted his clipboard in the crook of his arm, holding the tip of his pen to a wad of clean, lined paper. Hanji shrugged and pulled over a chair, setting into it as her fingers began to dance around on the small, central touch-screen on the control panel.

"Alright, I'll get on with it," Xora responded, nodding her head. Eren led her to the small table closer to the door and pulled out a chair for her to settle in, seating himself down across from her.

"Continue," Eren said, pen ready to begin writing. "Please relay all details of that night. All details."

"Jacques Germaine seems - seemed to be a close accomplice with Alan Clark. They seemed on fairly friendly terms when I inspected them interacting with each other. He and four others participated in the kidnapping of the painting, though, he had specifically stated that right after the piece disappeared, he lost all connection with it.

"At first, I had assumed Clark was involved because he and Germaine seemed on rather private terms, and I was right. Clark was involved; Germaine did not deny a thing. The other three involved are two women and a man: Emmaline Blanchet, Marielle Desjardins, and Solomon Lamar. I'm not sure about the characters of the three, but I think Blanchet was at the gala from my first day in Paris. Also, I assume Levi knows her more personally than I do; he has spoken of her before.

"Germaine informed me that the con artist's name is Sylvane Piquet; whether it is a man or woman, I do not know, and all I know is their name. He also explained that the other four are the main masterminds of the plan, Germaine simply jumping in on their chance opportunity at the last minute. This makes him as a source that has little information, but it is more than enough. But, we will be unable to extract any information from him if we ever desire to."

"And why do you say that?" Eren inquired without looking up from his clipboard, the sound of his pen scribbling on the paper filling the quiet air.

"I am surprised our captain has not informed you yet. Levi killed Jacque Germaine."

"What?!" A troubled look crossed Eren's face, looking as if he were frustrated as to how to respond, but it quickly melted away as he sighed. "I shouldn't be, but I'm not quite surprised. Heichou has got a thin line; he's so used to killing since a huge chunk of his missions are always assassinations." Running a hand through his thin sienna hair, he murmured, "Germaine could've been a useful source. Heichou, why, oh, why..."

With another heavy breath, he stood and nodded thanks to Xora, beckoning for her to follow him over to where Hanji was typing furiously into the center screen of the control panel. He leaned over and discreetly whispered a few remarks into Hanji's ears, who stiffened and immediately began to work again.

Within a few minutes, Hanji had merged all of the several screens into one large one, creating a cinema-like feel. Several files pulled up onto the screen, Xora raising her eyebrows at how quickly Hanji was able to navigate through millions of pieces of information and retrieve what she needed in no time at all. Suddenly, a faint pain throbbed in her head, but she waved it off, suppressing it by pressing her lips into a thin, straight line.

"Here we go," Hanji said happily, presenting the screen with a wave of her hand. "Emmaline Blanchet, Marielle Desjardins, and Soloman Lamar. They are all successful and huge donors towards the Louvre, all of high backgrounds. Blanchet happens to be the owner of a gigantic fashion company; Desjardins the same, but with a company focused around architecture. As for Lamar, just recently in the past few years, he received a seven billion dollar inheritance from a late uncle." Turning to Xora, Hanji smiled, sliding her glasses up to rest them on top of her head, pushing her stray bangs out of the way.

"Locating and finding out Sylvane Piquet's information will be harder and will take more time," she explained, tightening her ponytail. "But beside that, thank you very much, Archangel! The information you gave us is extremely vital; I appreciate it very much."

"It - it wasn't a problem at all," Xora stuttered, mentally punching herself when Hanji and Eren immediately looked over to her with concerned and astonished looks. Another sharp pain echoed in her head, ricochetting inside of her cranium.

"Archangel, is everything okay?" Eren asked quietly, setting down his clipboard against the surface of a few knobs. "You seem rather... unsettled."

"Did something happen that night I was out?" Hanji inquired, amber eyes narrowing a fraction. With such a high level of intellect, Xora wasn't surprised Hanji had sensed something was off.

"Everything is fine," Xora reassured them with a stern nod, cyan eyes flashing. "Please do not worry about me. I would like to inform you that tonight, I plan on locating this Blanchet woman and surveying her for the night." She pivoted and began for the door, fingers itching to return to the exercise room.

"Already?" Eren protested. "But Archangel, you've simply just woken - "

"As I said, please do not worry about me." Reaching the exit, Xora hastily slipped through the door and shut it before starting straight for the exercise room, but something stopped her in her tracks. For the third time, the pain overwhelmed her senses and she finally crumpled, holding her head in her hands as she fell to the floor in a series of thumps.


	16. Code XVI: Their First Move

A soothing, melodic sound was what lulled Xora into a mess of the pain ebbing away from her head. She shook it, dark lashes slowly rising as she opened her ultramarine hues, fingers entangled within her black mass of dark hair. Her knees throbbed from hitting the floor so suddenly, even with the thin rug carpet, herself loosening her hands and rubbing her joints to sooth them from their aching as she stood slowly.

That haunting song was still playing, again captivating her attention wholly. It compelled her and beckoned towards her, drawing her to find the source of the strangely melancholic song. Moving in tune with the melody, she ventured around the mansion, not keeping track of the time, wandering towards where she swore the sound came from - but its notes enveloped her completely like a blanket.

Soon she came upon a door - a door that was unlike any other in their temporary home. Unlike all of the dark, wooden doors, this one was a pure white metal, glazed with clear lacquer. Its handle was similar to that of the front doors', but instead of being a tawny gold with bronze, it was a deep black, no lock keeping hold to its contents. With a hesitant hand, Xora slowly curled her fingers around the chilled metal and pressed down the handle, soundlessly opening the door a crack.

Peering inside, her eyes widened when they set on the figure of Levi from behind, the scroll of a grand cello peeking over his left shoulder. Curiosity overwhelmed all of her senses and Xora slipped inside. She shut the door without a sound, her gaze stuck on the gently swaying shoulders and head of her captain.

The deep, resonating sound of the cello he toyed with swallowed her whole - just like the time at the gala, only this sound was more... haunting, more baleful. Very slowly, she circled around him until she could view him from his right-diagonal side, observing him from a three-quarters profile. He was still playing, thick lashes hiding his closed eyes, fingers gracefully flitting across the strings. The way his eyebrows were knitted together made it seem as if a tear would slip from his eyes at any given moment, but they stayed dry; if anything was crying, it was the cello as the bow hairs he manipulated graced over the strings.

Levi's passion was portrayed through this strange, eerie ballad he managed to morph into one chorale after the other. The beautiful poem given by the sound alone sent shivers crawling down Xora's spine, chills prickling every inch of her skin.

It was not until Levi stopped playing that she snapped back to reality, the spell of his lullaby snapping instantly - and, it was then that she realized she had forgotten something important, something vital to their mission, something she should've noticed and let her comrades know of long before she realized it.

"Xora?" he addressed slowly, resting the cello against the inside of his thigh. He propped the butt of the bow against his knee, opening his eyes to reveal his cobalt irises. "What are you doing in here?"

"Levi," Xora breathed, barely catching her breath. "I - I have information that I thought critical."

"So you ventured here to tell me? To this room, of all the ones in this place?"

"I - I - " It seemed like a trick question, the one Levi asked Xora, but she wrinkled her brows, remembering it was only so simple. "Excuse me; I mean, in context. Your... music brought me to recall this detail, to be exact."

"My music?"

Xora licked her bottom lip, trying to divert the attention back to what she needed to notify him of. "On the painting, the counterfeit one," she said, enunciating every word. "I didn't quite get a look at this specific detail; it was so discrete and well-hidden, but I am thankful I did."

Levi's slanted eyes narrowed a fraction. "And? What is it?"

Xora sucked in a sharp breath. "Fleur de Lis. The Stylized Lilly - I saw the imprint of it, displayed in the bottom right corner. It is just as you said, about this clue, and not only that; the four remaining conspirers are associated with it."

\---

**[Night]**

"You're certain of the coordinates, Hanji?" Xora asked in a low voice to the device inserted in her ear, her back pressed firmly against the wall of a warehouse in an abandoned field of construction.

"Positive," Hanji's voice crackled in the earpiece. "I simply searched through the nearest GPS satellite and searched through cellular data until I found information matching her cell phone's."

"How are you so sure Blanchet is going to that warehouse?" Levi's annoyed voice asked through the device, a small 'tch' sounding after a bit of feedback fell through.

"Um, I did this part, Heichou," Eren's wavering voice said. "Simply by calculating the route she plans to take with the direction she's taking now, selecting auspicious locations and eliminating unlikely ones. Plus, with a bit more of Hanji's research, it's likely she's also going to meet with several of the others there, too."

"You've located the other three heading towards this location too, Hanji?" Xora inquired, further nestling herself into the shadows as she heard the crunching of tires over loose gravel roll into the dirty courtyard.

"Only Lamar and Desjardins," the brunette informed. "Those two are already there. The coordinates for Clark is currently at a restaurant near the river Seine; he's not present."

"Alright. Someone's rolling in."

"Good luck, Archangel," Eren spoke before everything went silent.

With dauntless, determined eyes, Xora observed quietly as a black-haired woman wearing a creme-colored coat and six-inch tall black stilettos emerged from a parked car, shutting off the lights, but not the engine. Even with the gigantic, thick pair of shades covering the woman's eyes, Xora could tell instantly who it was, with her thick, dark tresses tumbling over her shoulders: Emmaline Blanchet.

Though it was quite suspicious for such a renowned name to be at an abandoned warehouse in the seat of night, only one question really nagged at Xora's mind: what kind of idiot would wear sunglasses when it was that dark?

Emmaline huffed out a complaint in hurried French about how dank and dingy the warehouse was. She hurried to a rusty old door beside the large panel. Rather noisily, she squealed about the dirt patches on the knob before twisting it and heaving it open, slamming it behind her as she slipped inside - heels clicking all the way against the broken cement pathway.

Without a moment to waste, Xora noiselessly pivoted around the turn and discovered a ladder that scaled up the ridged wall of the structure, leading to an ajar hatch. Twisting her head, she made sure there were no more anomalies approaching before she launched herself up the ladder, leaping from rung to rung, skipping a few here and there. Once she reached the top, she sleekly slipped her body into the hatch without moving it an inch in fear it would create a noise. She carried her legs over the frame and lightly landed on a metal walkway, its supports attached to the roof. A small queasy feeling pooled in her stomach; who knew how long it would hold, lest it'd fall without giving her any time at all.

Crouching low, she crawled her way over to where a tower of old, dusty wooden crates stacked high in a mountain reached high enough to where she was. Xora crept behind it and was able to observe Emmaline from her spot, two others rendezvousing with her. In her left ear, a different device was inserted in her canal; specially designed and sent in from Armin Arlert himself, the small contraption was similar to that of a hearing-aid - only, if magnified and enunciated any spoken word, and recorded it with immaculate accuracy.

Only looking by averting her gaze, she was able to see the other two. Soloman Lamar was a rather masculine man, the prints of his muscles visible even through his casual gray sweater, paired with simple khakis. He had very defined features, with a sharp chin and prominent nose. His dark chocolate skin nicely complimented light, hazel eyes, thick lips nicely curled into a smile. Head shaved cleanly, he gave off the look of a prestigous young man around the age of early or mid-twenties.

As for Marielle Desjardins, the woman looked of Asian descent, like Xora. Her hair was a light auburn with a rusty tint, bangs falling in a straight cut right above her deep, dark eyes. She was rather short compared to the other two, but her posture simply radiated authority and prestige. Hair falling to only right above her shoulders, curling around her rounded chin, she bit nervously on her maroon lips fingers twisting around the strap of her leather bag. She was dressed nicely in a navy coat, dark leggings under donned with dark brown suede boots.

" _Avez-vous entendu?_ " Emmaline asked in a rushed voice, her tone strained. " _Germaine est mort. Qui l'a tué? Avez-vous une révèlent notre plan à ne importe qui_?"  **[Have you heard? Germaine is dead. Who killed him? Did one of you reveal our plan to anyone?]** She toyed with a small red satin handkerchief in her gloved hands, wringing it tightly before loosening it and draping it over one of her fists.

" _Détendez-vous, madame_ ," Soloman said, resting a many-ringed hand on the distressed woman's shoulder. His voice was very, very deep, low and smooth. " _Je suis sûr que la police de faire de leur mieux pour trouver le tueur, je ai déjà envoyé quelques enquêteurs privés sur sa queue. Nous avons fait un pacte; il ne ya aucun moyen de nous aurait rompu. La mort de Germaine était sûrement une coïncidence_."  **[Relax, madam. I'm sure the police are trying their hardest to find the killer, I've already sent a few private investigators on his tail. Besides, we made a pact; there's no way one of us could've broken it. The death of Germaine was surely a coincidence.]**

" _Et comment voulez-vous savoir_?!" Marielle snapped, also seeming to be in agitation. " _Pour tout ce que nous savons, vous pourriez être le tueur, ou celui qui a divulgué notre plan! L'autre jour, Alan m'a dit il ya peut-être déjà plusieurs enquêteurs étrangers à la recherche en nous_!"  **[And how would you know?! For all we know, you could be the killer, or the one who leaked our plan! The other day, Alan told me there already may be several foreign investigators looking into us!]**

" _Madamoiselle_ ," Soloman enunciated in his velvety, thick voice. " _Nous avons caché la pièce soigneusement et Sylanve fait un excellent travail sur la contrefaçon. Tout ce que nous avons à faire est de se assurer d'Eagle prend bien soin des autres concurrents, et nous allons se en tirer sans scotch_."  **[Madam. We have hidden the painting carefully and Sylane did a swell job on creating the counterfeit. All we have to do is wait until Eagle takes care of the other competitors, and we'll get away scotch-free.]**

" _Que faire si Sylvane était celui qui a divulgué?_ " Emmaline inquired suddenly, her eyes widening in realization.  **[What if Sylvane was the one who leaked?]**

" _Il ne aurait pas pu!_ " Marielle practically screeched in reply, disbelief flashing over her youthful features. " _Il est le plus grand artiste que je sais, et nous avons été complices depuis il ya des années! Je place ma confiance en lui au-dessus de tout le monde_!"  **[He is the greatest artist I know, and we have been accomplices since years ago! I place my trust in him above anyone else!]**

" _Je ai payé assez pour lui assurer qu'il ne laisserait pas une chose glisser hors_ ," Soloman assured the two women, pushing himself between them. " _Se il vous plaît, il ne est pas nécessaire de se battre ou élever vos voix dans un endroit comme celui-ci. Nous pourrions être entendu_."  **[I have paid him enough to assure that he would not let a thing slip out. Please, there is no need to fight or raise your voice in a place like this. We could be heard.]**

" _Il n'y a personne ici pour km!" Emmaline huffed. "Pourquoi pensez-vous que nous avons choisi spécifiquement pour répondre ici, dans ce lieux sales, de tous les emplacements_?"  **[There's no one around for kilometers! Why do you think we chose to meet in this dirty place, of all locations?]**

Their conversation was interrupted by a sharp voice, one that said, " _Regardez! Courir_!"  **[Look! Run, escape!]**

All three of their heads turned to look at something that Xora's field of vision could not reach, the objective on the other side of a tall tower of wooden crates. Whatever it was, it sent Marielle and Emmaline screaming, bolting for the exit. Soloman was a step in front of them, being the first to exit, Xora not wasting even a split-second to lunge for the hatch.

Xora couldn't care less for creating noise now; she slammed open the hatch and lifted herself through after catching a glimpse of what the other three had seen: it was the insigna of the Stylized Lilly, freshly painted with a coat of white paint on the wall. Its outline was dripping, loose, and running down the rusty wall of the warehouse, a small, flickering red light placed in the very center of the symbol.

"XX! Get out of there, now!" Levi's voice screamed from the other side, but Xora didn't even need his warning to know there was danger. With her hands held loosely onto the sides of the ladder, Xora slid down, her feet barely skipping over the rungs as alarm pierced through her mind.

She was only able to sprint a few meters away from the warehouse before it exploded.


	17. Code XVII: Incapacitation

The result of the explosion was catastrophic. Xora flew forward, the force of the explosion intense, her body smashing into the ground with a few sickening cracks before tumbling even farther, herself stifling yelps of pain. When she finally came to a stop, she struggled to pick herself up, knowing she must've broken a few ribs and probably her left collarbone from the fall. Her head was reeling, chest unmoving as she was unable to breathe, gasping for air.

The warehouse was up in flames, the bright embers licking and lighting up the dark night sky. She could barely watch to see the debris continue to fly, blazes growing even larger, but the sky decided to cry, the rain dimming the intensity of the flames. Xora was mesmerized with how beautifully the flames liked to dance, even when the rain desired to destroy its light.

Her few moments of standing in wonder was interrupted when several coughs wracked through her body, hand rushing to smack over her mouth. When something wet and gooey began to fill her palm, she pulled away her hand and wasn't the least bit surprised to find a small pool of her own blood. Gagging, she felt a few more drops leave the corner of her lips.

Whether the other trio had survived or not, Xora had no idea, but she knew that she had to get away - and fast. Stumbling over her own two feet, she raced off into a nearby forest, following a thin path she created earlier to the hidden vehicle she'd taken alone. Within the device in her right ear, she could hear many bouts of crackly and broken fragments of voices.

"XX - okay - out - there - you?!" Levi's voice crackled.

"Supersonic - organs - hurry - waiting!" Hanji cried.

"Archangel - you - recording - left - come!" Eren said in a broken voice.

With Xora's head throbbing vehemently, shattered feedback and blank scratching did not help in the least bit; out of frustration and pain, Xora ripped the device out of her ear and threw it on the ground, shattering it with the heel of her boot before running off again.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of tripping over tree roots and tumbling over stone, she reached the dark, sleek car, rushing over to the driver's seat. By that time, she'd fallen and tumbled over rough ground so much, her knees and elbows were bruised and covered with small lacerations. In the dark, stray tree branches did not help, leaving wounds of their own across her arms, shoulders and face. A gash across her right cheek leaked of blood, dribbling down to her chin.

Gloved hands trembling, Xora could already hear the sound of sirens in the distance, even though the warehouse was in such a rural location.

'Someone must've alerted the law enforcement ahead of time,' Xora thought in a rush, slipping into the car and starting the engine. Without even bothering to put on her seatbelt, she stomped her foot on the gas, racing out of the forest and onto a different street. She had to report what she'd seen at the warehouse that night.

Throughout Xora's speeded way back to the base, she was wracked with bouts of coughing fits, each time hacking up more and more goopy blood mixed in with sticky mucus. Dark spots constantly danced about her vision, pain aching throughout her entire body, but she resisted falling under. There were several times before where she'd experienced such danger, but she'd never gotten so injured. With her physical abilities, there was never the chance to get even the tiniest paper cut, until now.

Xora felt ashamed; how could she allow this to happen to herself? How could she not have sensed or noticed the bomb? With a tarnished body like herself, she took low roads and avoided routes with big traffic, racing through small neighborhoods and under bridges.

It took her nearly an hour to finally reach the base, having had taken more discrete routes. At that time, the driver's wheel and her hands were slicked with the concoction of her blood and mucus, breathing ragged and broken. Her joints were becoming sore and stiff; who knew how much longer she could hold out?

Coming to a stop in front of the Parisian mansion, Xora opened the car door and spilled out, her bottom hitting the asphalt. Grunting in pain, she staggered to her feet, shutting the car door by slamming it with her entire body. The pain was numbing her strength.

Xora hobbled around the vehicle and down the pathway to the front door, head still gyrating, pace slowing with every step. Her vision merged from 20/20 to blurry over and over; she could barely make it out when the front door slammed open, light pouring out onto the pathway.

All she could make out was a figure dashing towards her. With another stab of pain coming from her knees, she collapsed forward, the figure catching her just in time. Her throbbing head rested against a muscular yet plush shoulder, thick arms wrapping around her body. She could not help but hack another lob of blood onto her savior's shirt, staining it with the maroon liquid. Vision finally falling dark, she could only listen to the faraway echoing of Levi's voice crying for Hanji and Eren's assistance.

Then, she went under.

\---

Eyes fluttering open, Xora showed the world her spectacular azure irises once again, gaze focusing on the ceiling. She awoke with herself wrapped in bandages, skinsuit gone to be replaced with a loose-fitting gown made of light fabric. Every time she took a breath, a faint pang of pain resonated in her chest, making her eybrows knit together.

Xora attempted to sit up, ignoring the agony as she rose, yelping loudly. Hanji suddenly burst into the room, eyes widening when she spotted the injured girl trying to move.

"Archangel!" she squealed rushing over. She eased Xora back onto her backside, laying her gently on her bed with the utmost care. "You shouldn't be moving, especially not now! And - how are you even awake?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Xora croaked. "I'm fine. If you'd just help to the exercise room, I'll - "

"No!" Hanji protested, shaking her head vigorously. "You must stay in bed for the next few days. I can't believe you survived such a blast!"

"I can't believe we didn't detect that bomb," Levi cut in, his form appearing by the doorway. He slowly made his way inside, coming to the bedside of Xora. "I swear it, I'll find the bastard behind that attack, and I'll kill him."

"Archangel!" Eren cried, the boy running into the room. "You're awake! Are you alright?!"

"She's most definitely not alright!" Hanji enunciated, stamping her foot. "Archangel, you returned to us with two cracked ribs, a ruptured left lung, mild brain damage, and just about a thousand bruises and cuts! Does she sound alright to you, Eren?!"

"I'm so shocked you were able to sustain such a blast," Eren sighed, shaking his head. "I'm even more astonished to find that you've awoken the next day. As Hanji was taking care of your wounds, she estimated you wouldn't wake for at least the next few days, if not for the next week!"

"I wonder if it's because I internally know I've got a mission to finish," Xora murmured. Resisting the pain again, she shot up, taking the agony after the one moment of clarity.

"Idiot!" Levi scoffed as she coughed up another bout of blood. He reached an arm forward as if he were to grab hold of her, but he froze when realization dawned upon his face and he retracted his arm. Clearing his throat, he said, "Shitty four-eyes. I doubt there's anything we can say to keep her down; it's unnecessary to even try."

"Thank you," Xora nodded, turning to Hanji. "Beside my minor injuries, I must report to the intel I"ve conceived and determined from... last night."

"'Minor' injuries," Hanji scoffed before shaking her head, readying her pen on her clipboard. "Eren, you take this down too. Even though we heard just about everything on our side, I want a first person account."

"The very first thing I can conclude from their first few exchange is that both of the women, Marielle Desjardins and Emmaline Blanchet both believe the 'killer' of Jacque Germmaine is going to come after them next because of the 'killer's knowledge of the plan." Xora paused briefly to flicker her gaze over to Levi, who simply stared at the floor blankly. "The next is that Soloman Lamar has sent private investigators on the murderer's tail. We should be wary of that, though I am not too concerned with our already set level of security."

"And what of Desjardins' quote of Clark?" Hanji questioned without looking up from her scrawlings.

"She stated that he was suspicious of there already being foreign investigators upon their case; I cannot derive if whether or not he knows it's specifically the Iridescent Empire, but it also draws up another question. Are there any other organizations or government-driven groups like us after them?" Xora's fingers toyed with the tip of one of her long strands. "Also, Lamar mentioned something about 'Eagle' - who he spoke of to 'eliminate' the other competitors. I suspect that this 'Eagle' could very well may be the serial killer that we've been chasing."

"Could Eagle possibly already be a codename for a serial killer in our archives, Eren?" Hanji interjected quietly.

"No," the brunette boy answered with a shake of his head. "I already looked into it this morning; in our current files, there's no one named 'Eagle' who fits the description of a serial killer." Upon Eren's response, Hanji's eyebrows knit together and she tapped the head of her pen against her chin, but she nodded for Xora to continue.

"And," Xora continued, "Desjardins seems to have an earlier history with Piquet. She mentioned having had known him for years now, and that she places high trust in him. Lamar claimed that he'd paid Piquet a healthy amount of money to keep his mouth shut when Blanchet accused him of leaking information of their doings."

"After that was the explosion, right?" Levi cut in.

"No," Xora answered with a shake of her head. "In between the time increment of the explosion and the last statement of their dialogue, someone warned them. I was not able to pinpoint the exact source of the voice, but someone had informed them to 'look' at something, and to ' run'."

"So there was someone else there that night," Hanji murmured, rubbing her chin. "Someone else must have overheard their conversation; judging from the warning, it might've been an ally. But could they have been the one to plant the bomb?"

"But why would someone put the bomb there in the first place?" Eren inquired, eyebrows furrowed. "It could've been meant to kill the three, Archangel, or everyone altogether."

"Whoever it was, they were aware of the rendesvous that night," Xora said, toying with a lock of her hair. "It leans more towards the fact that it was meant for those three, but my presence could've been picked up. I am almost certain it wasn't, but there's always a chance I could've been found."

A spike of pain shot through her chest when she inhaled a deeper breath, causing her to clutch the fabric of her shirt. Levi was at her side in an instant, one hand on her lower back, the other on her shoulder.

"We've discussed this far longer than what's healthy for XX," he emphasized, shooing at Eren and Hanji. The two brunettes looked at Levi skeptically before looking at Xora with small smiles, exiting the room moments later. Once they were gone, Levi's hard expression softened when he looked at Xora.

"You need to stop pushing yourself like this," he scolded, gently easing her back onto the large, plush pillow. "It can't be good for you, physically or mentally."

"I told you, I'm fine," Xora huffed, adjusting her blankets. "These are nothing, and I'll be up in less than a week, I swear it. Injuries are a perfectly normal thing, just... they're never this bad." She shrugged a shoulder.

Levi raised an eyebrow in amusement and pulled up a chair to her bedside, taking a seat with his elbows resting upon his knees.

"You know, Xora," he murmured, resting a hand gently on hers, "you've changed. A lot." Xora wrinkled her nose, flinching upon the sound of her name and the physical contact.

"How so?" she asked, reflexively pulling away, but Levi held tight... just as he usually did.

"You may not see it, but I definitely do." Leaning against the bed, he hovered over Xora for a few brief moments, completely towering over the astonished girl. "It's most definitely not a bad thing, either." Lowering himself, he pressed a soft kiss against her forehead before pulling back, gunmetal irises glimmering with a spark of mischief.

"Levi, I - " Xora stuttered, unable to find the words as a sudden wave of fatigue washed over her. "I have things I need to - to ask you."

"Then ask me once you get better," Levi insisted, positioning himself comfortably on his chair. "For now, just get some rest."

As her eyelids began to grow heavy, she feebly reached out a hand for Levi, vision growing darker and darker. "But I need... answers... now..." The last thing her consciousness could register before it slipped away was a warm touch entwining with her hand, but she closed her eyes and fell into slumber.

\---

After five days of simply laying in bed and taking medication prescribed by no other than Hanji, who'd claimed, "I'm a scientist! Scientists are no different from doctors! Well, sorta... anyways! I'm sure these medications will better your current state. At least, I'm ninety-nine percent sure."

Apparently they had; when Xora woke up five days later, she rose out of bed, feeling a bit groggy and out of shape. But nonetheless, her bones and appendages felt as good as new.

The first thing she did was go straight to the bathroom. She felt grimy and unclean, stripping from her clothes and bandages before plunging straight into the shower with the water running ice-cold. Strangely, the sting of the cold made Xora feel further cleansed and purified, scrubbing her unruly hair and body thoroughly. By the time she rinsed and clambered out of the shower, her skin was red from being rubbed raw.

Using a dry towel she found on a rack, she dried her body and scruffed her hair, throwing it in an empty hamper beside the door. Walking into her bedroom completely nude, she flung open the wardrobe and extracted her usual jumpsuit, hurrying to dress herself in the familiar material.

Once it covered her body, she inhaled a deep breath and exhaled in relief, dwelling in a temporary state of happiness and security. A memory pulled at her sense; she had things she needed to ask Levi, and she wanted the answers to them as soon as possible. Pivoting, she discovered her boots at the door and slipped them on, tapping the toes of them against the floor to assure they were snug.

As soon as she left her room, she headed straight for Levi's office. Her mind was buzzing; she was certain Levi was the man who held the answer to some, if not most of the questions that had been haunting her for awhile now. Part of her intent of coming on this mission was finally coming to be - and she just had to find Levi.

Once she approached Levi's closed door, she could hear his and Eren's voice arguing inside. Confused, she laid her hand on the handle and knit her brows; did she miss something while she was incapcitated? Should she intervene now, or would her presence only cause the conflict to grow even larger than it already was?

Pushing her luck, she twisted the handle and flung open the door, only to see Levi grab Eren by the tie and pull him forward, roughly pressing their lips together.


	18. Code XVIII: The Titans

Xora was able to get a full picture of her captain and co-worker locking lips imprinted into her mind before they both pulled away from each other in astonishment. Eren, already a light shade of pink turned downright red, his forest hues wide with embarrassment.

"E - excuse me!" he choked, mortified. Hanging his head, he ducked past Xora and scampered away, face flushed the entire way. With her eyebrows knit in puzzlement, she turned back to face Levi. He was seated in his chair, leaning back casually with a rather nonchalant look on his face.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" Xora inquired slowly, shutting the door behind her.

"Nothing at all," was Levi's clipped response. He motioned for her to come forward and take a seat in the chair beside his desk. Xora did as he implied, searching for something to say.

"I don't mean to pry, but is there something going on between the two of you that Hanji and I don't know of?"

"It's not a problem to speak about. Eren confessed to me quite awhile ago, but he simply won't accept the word 'no' every time I tell the brat I'm not interested. I kissed him to quell his yearning for a period of time; it's distracting."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think? Why not try it out, even just a little? I think it's rather cute; now that I truly ponder over it, every time he spoke to you, he'd always be a little flustered."

"It's normal for adolescents to fall for someone much older than them, isn't it? He was asking for some form of affection, therefore I answered with a kiss. Simple as that." Levi shrugged and rolled his shoulders before leaning against his desk, hands folding upon each other when he propped his elbows up against the cherry wood. "Now, Xora. What is the real reason you came in? You rarely ever enter my office."

"I had a few questions," Xora answered, face blank.

"Shoot."

"Alright..." Taking a slow, deep breath, Xora looked deeply into Levi's intricate eyes, searching for any traces of honesty in their lost colors. "It may not be the right time to ask you this, especially after this little... incident, but these questions have pestered me for so long now."

It was briefly silent; Levi hadn't moved an inch.

"What is this strange feeling I always feel whenever I'm in your presence? I believe it is simply because I must be sick with some terminal illness; my stomach starts to get heavier, my head gets a bit swarmed and I always feel myself go red." As if on cue, a tad of cherry glowed on her cheeks in contrast to her pale skin. "Not only that, my mind seems to remember memories that I've long forgotten; you're even in some of them, but I'm sure it's all but a hallucination."

"Elaborate a bit more," Levi murmured, an eyebrow raising as he scooted closer to Xora, leaning across the desktop.

"Let's see... it's been happening since I first met you, Levi. And why am I so - so vulnerable with you? If you are next to me, it feels as if I can lower my guard and let whatever happen to me. Not only that, why can I feel this... this sense of trust with you, even though it hasn't been as long as it really seems?" Xora clutched the fabric of her suit in front of her chest. "And my chest. Why does my chest hurt when I look into your eyes? Why is it that whenever we're alone together, you seem to grow so much warmer?

"And these... these acts of - of affection!" Xora's eyes were full of confusion and thought as she gazed straight into Levi's orbs, the colors like voids sucking her in. "You are able to so easily kiss me and act as if it is nothing; same with Eren, as shown before. How do you do this, and without meaning? I am someone who does not often feel such 'emotions', and yet, I still cannot do so and show someone what affection is. Why... why is that?"

Again, silence filled their exchange, the two not breaking their gazes even once. Then finally, Levi spoke.

"Well, that's a damn lot of questions," Levi scoffed, causing Xora to redden even more. "It's fine, if you're thinking it's a burden. First and foremost, to answer all of your questions in a nutshell: I believe you have not experienced 'love'. Or maybe you have, you've just forgotten it, and what it feels like."

"Love?" Xora repeated. "As in, a romantic relationship? I have not the time for such at thing."

"Tch." Levi slashed a hand through his hair and leaned back on his chair. "No, idiot. That included, but 'romance' isn't the entire picture when it comes to love. Love can be from a familial base, or there is also love from companions and friends."

Xora's gaze lowered to the floor. "...Of those, I have none. I am alone - but I still have not the need for love."

"You're only human. All humans require affection of some sort, after all else. You can't deny that."

Xora lowered her head. "You may be correct, Levi, but all I am simply asking for is the answer to these questions. Nothing else."

"The only answer I can give you won't make you happy, and even I am unsure of it."

"Then, what is your best guess, Levi? Enlighten me."

"That is for you to find out on your own, Xora," Levi smirked, standing from his chair to gaze out of the tall window directly behind him.

"What?" Xora, too, rose to her feet. "You won't inform me of your ideas?"

"I said that I can, but I never stated that I would." Turning his head, he glanced at her with eyes full of mischief, taunting her to press on. Instead, Xora swallowed hard and soaked in the answer she was given, abruptly standing.

"If that is how you intend it to be, then I will let it," she clipped. "I shall find out these answers myself; know, Levi, that I learned nothing by asking you such ludicrous questions."

"Good luck," was all she stayed to hear before exiting his office, shutting the door swiftly without a second glance backwards. Shuddering, she cleared her head of the past conversation and started for the data room, hoping to find something to do. She desired to leave on another assignment, possibly watching the actions of Blanchet or Desjardins, but she knew Levi would most definitely not allow such a thing - especially after the last incident.

After locating the data room, Xora crept inside to find Hanji unconscious with her head leaning against a button on the large control panel, glasses slid up to pin her bangs to her head. A large glob of drool dripped from the side of her lip, plopping straight onto the cold metal. On the large screens were pictures of the Stylized Lily insigna and the faces of several characters whom she did not recognize; many donned masks that looked rather strange, others wore abnormal expressions. Among them lied Alan Clark's profile, but a large question mark was covering the majority of his face.

"Archangel!" Eren's voice piped. Xora turned to see he was sitting at the round table, positioned to scribble notes onto his usual clipboard. Once their gazes met, his cheeks steamed, face flushing once again, but he greeted her warmly nonetheless. "Is there something you needed?"

"Not anything too important," she answered, then pointed at the sleeping woman. "What exactly was Hanji doing?"

"Oh, Hanji?" He cleared his throat and his face returned to its normal color. "She was simply doing some research on the Titan organization."

"Titan organization?" Xora pulled out a chair beside the boy and took her seat, drawing her full attention to him. "What is this Titan organization you speak of?"

"It's confidential information, but I'm surprised you haven't been told this yet," Eren murmured, setting down his pen. "The reason we, the Iridescent Empire, call our enemies 'Titans' is specifically because of a terrorist organization that we've been targeting for a long, long time now. They've always been one of the biggest supreme enemies against the IE, and we're constantly clashing against them. So far, there hasn't been a way for us to pull a victory against them."'

"I see. And so, why is this information about them kept confidential?"

"It's because of our strong suspicion of their intentions," Eren responded in a grave tone. For such a young boy, he glanced at her with eyes full of hollowness. "There is no one-hundred percent positive proof of it yet, but we have very strong evidence that their plan is to overthrow the world's largest governments, and take control of every human being in this world."

"How would they do that?"

"Cannibalism. It's a strange topic that no one would've gone with - most would have with weaponry, such as bombs or tanks, or something like epidemics and plagues. Though, with our extensive research, apparently it's the most effective way. If you didn't comply with the rules of the Titan organization, they'd torture you 'til your last breath, then snack on your very own flesh! Anything, really, to add chaos as fuel to the calamity of fire." Eren shuddered.

"It is quite strange when you really think about it," Xora agreed, wrinkling her eyebrows. "Do you have any idea of how many people are involved with them?"

"We actually have no idea. There's a rough ballpark of a million to several millions, which is an extremely terrifying number. Though there are billions of people in this world, with efficient distribution and expansion of fear, millions of 'Titans' will easily overthrow the entire globe within mere months, if not weeks."

"I see... a truly terrifying group of inhumane humans, aren't they?"

"Very," Eren said with a nod. "We hope we'll one day bring them to justice, but who knows what'll be of them until then. Everything they do is extremely hard to identify, and even harder to track."

Xora glanced at the several screens again, her eyes flitting over Alan Clark's picture. "Is there any explanation as to why Clark's picture is up there?"

"Well, it's only a suspicion," Eren murmured slowly, "but it's believed that Alan Clark is part of the Titan group - if not someone who holds a high position in the organization."


	19. Code XIX: Coffee and Tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short-ish chapter, I realize

"It's nice to finally get the chance to breath fresh air," Xora murmured with a sigh. "Although, I'm rather surprised to find that you decided to join me. I'd assumed that I was going to take a walk through Paris alone."

"I'm only human," Levi shrugged, sticking his hands in the front pockets of his light khacki pants. He tapped the toe of his dark sneakers with white lining against the cement of the sidewalk before catching up to Xora, adjusting the rolled-up sleeves of his black long-sleeve. "You're not the only one who needs a break from the IE life."

"Touche." Xora herself donned simple jean capris with a plain white tee, black Converse on her feet. "It's a very nice city. I never really got to enjoy such an urban atmosphere personally, like this." She and Levi trailed along the outer suburban ring of Paris, trekking through smaller, more town-like areas. Shops lined the streets from cafes to clubs to vendors. Many stores sold clothing, others sweets and pastires, and even more with strange topics Xora had never even thought of. They'd already encountered an antiques shop, novelty stores, taxidermy - too many to count.

Several times they passed dark alleyways with suspicious figures quietly talking amongst themselves; several times she was shot strange stares and smirks, earning a deathly glare from Levi. Eventually he snatched her hand and insisted she walked on left side of him, closer to the street and other passing people. Before she could reject, he tightly wove their fingers together and held tight without any indication of letting go.

"Er... Levi?" Xora chimed, glancing down at their tightly clasped hands. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Think of it as safety protocol," he claimed, but when Xora glanced up at him, he didn't dare to meet her gaze and his cheeks were flushed a light pink. Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, she shrugged and decided to let it slip past, adjusting her hand to be more comfortable in his. When they felt snug and nicely put together, a sudden smile almost displayed upon her lips; she was barely able to stop herself.

"Seems we'll have to really get used to enforcing these safety procedures, won't we?" she joked, catching Levi off-guard. He stopped abruptly and looked at Xora wide-eyed, mouth slightly agape. Stopping too, Xora merely shot him a blank face - but there was a devious gleam in her eye when she turned away and pulled him further along.

Their day resumed normally, but the atmosphere was much more light-hearted and joyous than Xora had expected. Perhaps it was because of the companion that decided to join her?

With their hands still locked tightly together, Xora visited many places with Levi she'd never been to before; there was a small bakery tucked into a corner, the build warm and cozy-looking.

"Why don't we go there?" she offered to Levi, leading them both inside. Light tinkling rang from a bell when they entered, the bakery filled with only a few other people; they were immediately greeted by a kind-looking young woman in her mid-thirties.

" _Bonjour_!" she said cheerfully over the glass case of wonderfully-done pastries. " _Bienvenue à la boulangerie de Rosie! Que puis-je faire pour vous sur un beau jour comme celui-ci_?"  **[Hello! Welcome to Rosie's Bakery! What can I do for you on a beautiful day like this?]**

" _Nous sommes tout simplement en regardant autour,_ " Xora replied with a warm smile; she was starting to get the hang of socializing, after seeing it be done so well by others.  **[We're simply looking around.]**

" _Bon, ne oubliez pas que nous avons la réduction d'un couple passe en ce moment_!"  **[Alright, just remember that we've got a couple's discount going on right now!]**

" _Couple_?" Xora repeated, eyes widening. Her eyes flickered over to Levi's amuzed gaze then back to they kind lady's her cheeks flushing red. " _N - nous ne sommes pas ensemble_!"  **[Couple? W - we're not a couple!]**

The lady laughed, the corners of her eyes crinkling. " _Chérie, il n'y a pas besoin d'être si timide_!"  **[Honey, there's no reason to be so shy!]** With a sly shake of her head, she disappeared from view through a door leading to what looked like a kitchen.

"If you told her we were a couple, we could've saved some money," Levi simpered, his hues glittering with mischeif as he pulled Xora over to the glass display of treats.

"But that would be lying," Xora murmured, eyes drifting to their still-interlocked hands. "I don't want to trick such a kind person."

"Sometimes, lying is necessary to get something you want." Levi peered into the glass and closely inspected slices of delicous-looking cakes, wrinkling his nose at the sweet sight.

"A mere discount isn't something I want."

"Hearing you say we were a couple was something I desired, though." Xora recoiled at the sudden remark, her eyebrows shooting upward. She stared at Levi wide-eyed, but he was too busy focusing on a place of macaroons, eyebrows knitted together.

"What did you just say?"

"What?"

"Can you repeated what you just said?"

"I said, what?"

Xora ran her hand through her long strands and shook her head, huffing. "No, I mean before that."

"Before what?" Levi asked, straightening. He stole another sly glance, and this time, Xora swore he saw a smirk play across his lips.

"Nevermind," Xora sighed. "I'm just not sure I heard you correctly." Levi led her to a table where they each took their seats across from each other, finally loosening their grips.

"What do you think you heard?" Xora couldn't decipher Levi's indifferent expression at the least bit, but his eyes constantly gave him away.

"It's nothing." She shook her head as he signaled a woman to come and serve them.

"Come on, you can tell me." When the server approached, Levi ordered a coffee and a green tea with a plate of assorted macaroons.

"It's irrelevant," Xora told him when the server finished taking down their order and walked away.

"I can confirm your suspicions."

Xora hastily wet her bottom lip when she decided she would play along with this game of his. "You want to hear a sentence that contains four words."

"And what are those few words?" His orbs flashed. "Can you say them?"

" _Nous sommes un couple_ ," Xora whispered softly, unable to meet his piercing gaze.  **[We**   **are a couple.]** A small sigh followed after. When she dared to look into Levi's eyes, she was taken aback to see they seemed to hold a softer, happier light - although his expression still remained like stone.

"It does sound nice," he murmured to himself.

"What does?"

"Those words, in your voice."

"Levi, if you continue, I don't think I'll be able to continue repressing the heat that keeps rising to my face." It was true - but she could already feel her face burn.

"Well, you're doing a terrible job of it," Levi scoffed, turning his attention back to the server. She set the cup of coffee in front of Levi and the tea in front of Xora, placing the place of treats in the center of the table. Leaving them with a wave, she told them to simply signal her if they needed anything more.

Right as she turned her head, Levi reached over and switched their drinks, placing the steaming mug of green tea in front of himself. Xora raised an eyebrow without saying a word.

"I prefer tea," was Levi's simply reply as he lifted the mug to his lips. "Besides, I hate the aftertaste of coffee without brushing my teeth right afterwards. Although, I wouldn't really mind kissing someone with it."

It took a moment for Xora to realize the reference, but when she did, she let out another pent up sigh and covered her face with her hands. How was she going to survive with this?


	20. Code XX: Important Apparatus

After their small break spent in the little cafe, the two decided they'd spent enough time playing around and took their leave upon the eatery. Once outside, again, Levi insisted upon taking Xora's hand and did so without much of her consent. She still didn't mind much, but there was still a peculiar feeling that bubbled within her when she comphrended his behavior.

By now the sun was brushing against the horizon, dusting the skies with pinks and oranges. The two weren't hasty to finish one last walk through the small town, towards the parking lot on the opposite side by which they'd parked. They walked on the opposite side of the town than when they came down, coming upon another entirely new selection of shops.

At one point they came upon another antique shop, this one by far the oldest and most run down antique seller they'd encountered. Xora slowed to a stop in front of the window and peered inside curiously, the store dimly lit with dainty lanterns. Her eyes swam over the ancient-looking artifacts presented through the grimy window panes. She set her free hand against the glass to peer closer at such curious pieces of history.

"The window is filthy," Levi commented in disgust, wrinkling his nose.

"But these antiques look so..." Xora trailed, unable to find the word. Levi joined her side and too peered through the glass, though he was careful not to get too close.

"So, what? Finish your sentences."

"I really don't know." Xora furrowed her eyebrows; something tugged at the back of her mind, like she was supposed to recall something important, but it couldn't quite form. "Do you presume we have enough time to go inside and take a look around?"

"You get a distracted a lot easier than I thought," Levi sighed with a shrug. "I don't think we've got much time; even if you do go in, longest we'll be is only a few minutes."

Their small exchange was interrupted when the door swung open with the ring of a bell, a woman hastily stalking out of the shop in a haughty fashion. She caught the attention of both agents immediately - this woman wasn't just  _any_  woman.

It was Marielle Desjardins.

Though she wore a wide-brimmed sunhat and very large sunglasses, Levi and Xora both were able to recognize her very easily. She didn't give the two so much as a glance before she nearly trotted away in her chunky three-inch heeled boots, giving the two little time to devise a plan.

"I was really hoping we'd get more time to relax," Levi grunted, pinching the bridge of his nose with yet another sigh. "Look. I'll tail Desjardins, and I want you to investigate this shop as thoroughly as you can. I'll meet you back at the car in twenty minutes, and we'll return to HQ to discuss the details we discover."

"Roger," Xora said with a nod. She turned for the door and loosened her grip on Levi's hand - but he pulled her back, and did something she should've expected, yet didn't. Tucking a finger beneath her chin, he lifted her face and pressed a firm kiss against her forehead.

"Don't be an idiot and go running straight into trouble like the last time we split," he said in a low voice before pulling away rapidly and sauntering casually in the direction Marielle had gone. Xora was left to brief flashes of what had occurred before, a shudder trickling down her spine. She was shocked to find herself relishing the touch of Levi's lips and merely waved it off, pulling open the entrance to the shop.

Once stepping inside, Xora was immediately overwhelmed with the smell of musty, old books, almost the entire place covered in a thick blanket of dust. She had the urge to cough and cover the lower half of her face with a handkerchief, but resisted due to decency.

Curious and reluctant at the same time, she wove throughout several shelves and tables displaying the oldest objects she'd ever seen: photo frames, furniture, eatingware, clothing, cleaning objects, vanity objects, toys, mirrors, dolls, and even more she couldn't even identify. She kept an eye out for something out of the ordinary that might have been a particular reason Marielle would've shown herself in such a place, but in an antique shop, what exactly was defined as 'out of the ordinary'?

The shop was silent until a sharp voice cut through, nearly making Xora drop a small bronze frame she was inspecting in her hands.

" _Bonjour, il_ ," the person greeted, kindly.  **[Hello, there.]** Xora readjusted her grip on the frame and turned to find a man standing before her, a mop of curly blonde hair the color of straw upon his head, piercing azure eyes staring at her behind a wire-frame pair of dark glasses. " _Puis-je vous aider_?"  **[How can I help you?]**

" _J - je regarde, c'est tout,_ " Xora responded, clearing her throat to avoid stammering once again. She set down the frame nervously and shifted on her feet.  **[J - just looking around, is all.]**

" _Sons grand! Permettez-moi savoir si vous avez besoin de rien. Je vais être à l'arrière, par la caisse si vous avez des questions. Je espère que vous trouverez quelque chose que vous aimez_!"  **[Sounds great! Let me know if you need anything. I'll be 'round back by the checkout, if you have any questions. I hope you find something you like!]**  The man shot Xora another smile and turned, heading off in the direction he'd pointed to when referring to the checkout. This gave her a chance to inspect him well: a white buttonup layered with a brown checkered vest, paired with suede dress pants of a similar shade. He looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties, lest he was simply a very young-looking forty-year-old.

This shop made Xora curious; she floated around for a few more minutes before following the same path the man had headed off in, seeing the checkout desk just as indicated. The blonde man stood behind it, back leaning on the wall behind him with his eyes glued to the Android phone in his hands.  **[quick poll: if you guys have a phone, do you have an iPhone, Andriod, or other? I'm just curious d:]**

His eyebrows were knitted together as if he were looking at something that troubled him, unconsciously chewing on his bottom lip. When Xora approached the desk, she caught the man's attention and he pocketed his cellphone, flashing her another radiant smile.

" _Trouver quelque chose que vous aimez?_ " he asked politely, leaning his elbows against the glass counter of the glass showcase that made up the checkout desk.  **[Find something you like?]**

" _Oui, mais je ai quelques questions,_ " Xora replied with nod.  **[Yes, but I've got some questions.]** She came closer to the glass cabinet and leaned her elbows on the structure to prevent herself from nervously fidgeting.

" _Bien sûr, bien sûr. Beaucoup de grands collectionneurs aimeraient connaître le contexte de qui ils achètent."_   **[Of course, of course. Any great collector would want to know the background of who they're buying from.]**

" _Êtes-vous le propriétaire de cette boutique?_ "  **[Are you the owner of this shop?]**

The man shook his head. " _Non, il appartient à mon grand-père. Je remplis simplement pour lui parce qu'il n'a pas senti bien depuis quelques mois. Bien que je peux dire que je suis très polyvalent dans la connaissance de la plupart des antiquités que vous pouvez trouver ici!_ "  **[No, it belongs to my grandfather. I am simply filling in because he has not been feeling well for the past few months. Although I can say that I am very versatile in knowledge of many of the antiques you can find here!]**

Xora nodded slowly, her eyes flitting around to find something,  _anything_  that would stand out, anything that would cause Marielle to come into such a dank shop - but something else caught her gaze. In the glass cabinet against which she leaned, on the very top shelf there were several different apparatuses, but one caught her eye.

It was a rosegold pocketwatch attached to a thin chain, the clock made with roman numbers, hands constructed of a dark material. Ancient designs were carved into the metal around the face, the internal gears visible through a small glass window in the lower part by the 'VI'. The moment her ultramarine eyes laid themselves upon it, something in her mind clicked: what it was, she could place once again, but she knew that she'd seen it before. How, she had no idea, but it was there, in her memory.

In the forgotten memories of the time before she'd reached the age of eleven years - the reason she'd come to Paris, to find those memories, was all at a dead stop until this moment. Until this moment, she hadn't had a single lead as to what could've been in her lost memories, but now she had a clue.

" _Ensuite, je aimerais savoir sur cette montre de poche_ ," Xora asked, her heart beginning to speed in her chest. It thudded in her ribcage at the sudden feel of nostalgia.  **[Then, I'd like to know about this pocketwatch.]**

"Ah," the man breathed in satisfaction. He leaned down and slid the back panel open, picking up the object by the chain. It swung as he brought it out from his resting place and placed it on the glass table top, presenting it humbly with a simple smile. " _Vous avez un grand œil. Ce est est une montre de poche d'il ya plusieurs siècles, à l'époque de la Première République. Mon grand-père a acquis par donation, il ya près de deux décennies."_ **[You have a great eye. This is a pocketwatch from centuries ago, during the time of the First Republic (1700s). My grandfather acquired it through donation almost two decades ago.]**

Xora's head was reeling. If she could speak to the donor, she could have some insight as to her past! There would be a way for her to make huge progress in the sake of lost time! " _Vraiment? Ce est très intéressant. Qui était ce généreux donateur?"_ **[Really? That's very interesting. Who was this generous donor?]**

" _Je aimerais savoir, tout autant que vous faites_ ," the man responded with a sad sigh. " _Malheureusement, cela a été donnée de façon anonyme. Les propriétaires précédents sont morts quand leur maison a éclaté dans un événement tragique de flammes._ "  **[I would like to know just as much as you do. Unfortunately, it was given to us anonymously. The previous owner died when their house burst into fire in a tragic event.]**

"Oh," was Xora's only response. Her hope slammed abruptly into a wall, but she shook it off; this pocketwatch itself was an extremely incredible clue! She picked it up gently, as if it were simply a thin piece of glass and shut the front cover, turning it over and over in her hands. Her hands swept across the cold metal, a sense of familiarity resonating from her fingertips. Pressing down against the latch release by the clip from which the chain hung, the cover popped open once again to reveal the face. Unconsciously, Xora clicked it again - twice this time - and something strange occurred.

This time the back cover slowly swung open, revealing a thin compartment, where a small slip of folded, faded paper flitted out and settled down on the glass top. The man looked at her in complete astonishment, his eyes narrowing.

" _Comment saviez-vous que ce était là-bas?"_ he asked, the smile returning to his face with a hint of suspicion tugging at its corners.  **[How did you know that was there?]**

" _Ce est normal dans les montres de poche que je aime à recueillir_ ," Xora lied, swiping up the slip of paper before the man noticed.  **[This is common in the pocketwatches I like to collect.]** She stuffed it back into her pocket and shut the compartment swiftly, displaying the most casual look she could on her face. Though her words were smooth and carefree, her heart was thudding madly; how in the world had she known to do that? She had no idea what even made up the mechanisms of a pocketwatch, and yet she'd found that compartment as if it were a reflex. " _Combien êtes-vous prêt à vendre ce pour?_ "  **[How much are you willing to sell it for?]**

" _Vous êtes intéressé? Ce est merveilleux!"_ **[You're interested? That's wonderful!]** The man brightened and happily clapped his hands, leaning to the side to grab a stray sheet of creme-colored fabric. " _Ce est à la vente pour € 2,848._ "  **[This is for sale for € 2,848 ($3,250).]**

Nodding, Xora pulled out a checkbook from the small over-shoulder bag she carried, clicking the tip of a pen the man offered to her to begin writing out the fees. Though she'd insisted against it, before offering Xora the evaluation of opportunity for the mission, Erwin had listed a ten-thousand euro bank deposit for any needs to her personally. For once, she found it useful.

Once she finished filling out all of the information, she ripped out the slip of paper and prepared to give it to the man. He was still carefully wrapping the pocketwatch in the fabric, tying a dark ribbon around it like someone would a Christmas present before fishing out a small box from a large one, placing the package inside. Xora stole this chance to glance at the small slip of paper she'd put into her pocket. As stealthily as she could, she flipped it as wide open as she could, eyes glazing over the few characters that were written within thorough scrawled handwriting:

_0 2 . 2 0_

_X . A ._

Before she could get enough time to interpret such, the man finished sealing the box, and Xora resumed her casual appearance, hurriedly folding the paper back into its fourths state. The two traded the check and box, a small sense of satisfaction bubbling within Xora when she had the box set securely in her hands.

" _Merci pour votre soutien!_ " the man thanked, reaching a hand out for Xora to shake, his face lit with a smile.  **[Thank you for your patronage!]**

" _Merci pour votre service,_ " Xora said with a nod, taking his hand for a firm shake. " _Puis-je obtenir votre nom?"_ **[Thank you for your service. May I get your name?]**

 _"_ Piquet," the man responded, his intimidating eyes flashing. "Sylvane Piquet."

**[lol if you've forgotten who this weirdo Sylvane is, he's the con artist xD]**


	21. Code XXI: Comfort of Expression

Xora hastily finished giving her goodbyes to Piquet before she rushed out of the shop. It was a struggle to not automatically break into a run, but she quickly attained a casual atmosphere, stuffing the small parcel as swiftly as she could into her purse. She quickly broke into a brisk walk, heading straight for the other end of town. With a quick glance to her watch, she realized that she only had five minutes until the twenty minute mark, speeding up her pace.

Her time was beginning to run out. When she reached a point in the town where it was sparse in population, she broke out into a run - only to suddenly crash face-first into the broad chest of a burly-looking man. Xora's gaze slowly slid upwards to meet with the beady stare of this sleazy looking man; too late, she realized this was one of the men giving her strange looks from the alleyways earlier. From behind him stepped out two more crooks, their faces stuck in smug grins.

" _Excusez-moi,_ " Xora said with as much force as she could, annoyed that such figures would intervene when there were only thirty seconds on the clock.

" _Vous êtes excusé_ ," the man in front of her smirked.  **[You are excused.]** He was a bald man probably an entire foot taller than her, a tattoo running over his head, down his neck and all over his right arm. Underneath his thin white tank was visibly ripped muscles, each of them flexed and scrutable.

" _Je serai sur mon chemin, puis,"_ Xora excused, side-stepping the man, but he followed her movements, again blocking her passage down the path. Alarm buzzed through her system; only ten seconds left.  **[I will be on my way, then.]**

 _"Pourquoi êtes-vous si vite_?" the man drawled, flashing her a smile decked with golden teeth. " _Vous êtes à la recherche belle aujourd'hui. Pourquoi ne pas prendre un verre avec moi et mes hommes? Je connais un excellent endroit quelques villes plus avec les meilleures boissons_."  **[Why are you so hasty? You're looking beautiful today. Why not grab a drink with me and my men? I know a great place a few times over with the greatest drinks.]**

" _Non merci_." Again, Xora side-stepped, and the process of him following repeated - but Xora was at the end of her rope. Her time was up; she was already fifteen seconds past. " _Vraiment, je dois y aller._ "  **[No thank you. Really, I must get going.]**

" _Allez, desserrer_ ," the clueless man insisted. " _Amusez-vous! Je vais même vous traiter_."  **[Come on, loosen up. Have fun! I'll even treat you.]**

" _Excusez mes manières rudes, mais je dois y aller maintenant. Je vais être en retard et il ne serait pas bon pour moi. Laissez-moi passer_."  **[Please excuse my rude manners, but I must take my leave. I will be late, and that will not result in something good. Let me leave.]** And with that she tried to weave past the bulky man, easily being able to wind around his leg before he noticed. After him she encountered another one of his croons, also skipping past him and the third.

Now it was the ninety second minute mark, but someone gripped her arm and whipped her back around. It was the third man, a taunting sneer upon his heavily scarred face.

" _Quelle est la ruée vers, ma chérie_?" he crooned, revealing his own set of rotting teeth; his breath rank of liquor and cigarettes. " _Tu viens avec nous, d'accord_?"  **[What's the rush, sweetie? You're coming with us, alright?]**

"Release me," Xora quivered, her enlarged eyes stuck on where the man's grimy hand gripped her soft flesh. She was frozen, her brain shooting out sparks that zinged throughout her entire body. Within her state, all logic had slipped, the English replacing the French tongue.

"Anglais?" the first man from before piped up, nearing her with heavy steps. The heels of his boots dragged against the pavement, leaving dark skid marks.

"I said, unhand me, you filthy  _VERMIN_!" Xora exploded. She suddenly leapt up and whipped her foot around, smashing the heel of her shoe into her captivator's jaw. He cried out in astonished pain and let go of her arm, falling backwards and crashing into the man behind him. The first man, the one with golden teeth barreled towards her, but there was fear and shock present in his gaze. Xora easily let one of his punches glide past her face and drive her elbow into his gut, tearing a loud  _oof_! free from his throat.

He crumpled to his knees just when the other two were beginning to recover, staggering to their feet. Xora was quicker, though; she launched off of her feet and roundhouse'd the one in the front, casting him aside. He did not rise again. With the last one left standing, Xora did the most simple move she could think of: she simply lifted her foot and landed a jab straight in the groin. Such force caused the man to choke with pain then wither to the ground... but that was not the end of it.

The very first man again rose - only this time, he was enraged. He sneered and lunged for Xora, not giving her any time to counterattack. Able to latch his meaty hands onto her shoulders, he wretched her close and put his face up to hers, the stench of his breath burning the insides of her nose.

"Stupid girl," he snarled with a thick French accent, shaking her so hard she swore her neck was on the brink of snapping. "You will pay!"

"Petty," Xora spat, her eyes blazing. "Go down, and  _stay_  down!" Rearing her head backwards, she snapped it forward and cracked it against the burly man's forehead. The beast released her and roared in pain, clutching his now bleeding forehead. He crouched over and held where the blood flowed. Without any time to waste, Xora hurried over and thrust the man to the ground by ramming into his stomach with her shoulder, straddling his waist once his back smacked against the cement. She raised an arm back, the crook bent to pivot her elbow joint - but a voice made her freeze.

" _Seraphina_!"

It was Levi. He was dashing furiously down the sidewalk toward her. She stared at him momentarily, wide-eyed - and that was her mistake. The man under her took that moment to throw her one the sidewalk instead and towered over her, his bloody face twisted in a glower. Her right shoulder blade and hip slammed against the pavement, shooting pain into her body.

She couldn't escape.

"Stay where you are!" Levi commanded, his pounding footsteps still several tens of meters away - he wouldn't make it in time.

"No," Xora breathed, her crystalline eyes glazing over with a dark shadow. Before the man on top of her brought his fist down, she brought her elbow around and smashed it against the side of his head, again tossing him aside. Once he was on the ground again Xora resumed her position of straddling his waist, this time not taking a moment for hesitation. She struck his temple swiftly with the back edge of a hand, his body falling limp instantly.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Levi cried, finally slowing his footsteps. He pulled Xora to her feet and began sprinting, still holding onto her wrist, but she could not continue on as well as he. Her head was in a daze from that headbutt, and pain shot up her right side every time she took a step.

"Levi, I - I know why Desjardins - " Xora started, but was abruptly cut off when she tripped over her own two feet and fell, scraping her elbows and knees.

"Hush!" Levi quieted, hooking one arm underneath her knees and the other around her back. He then lifted her into his arms, still taking off at full speed; their vehicle was now in view. "You can tell me once we get back!"

Unlocking the car, he gently laid her in the passenger side before getting in himself. Barely a moment had passed before he already zoomed off, eyes flickering back and forth between the road and Xora's injuries. She sat silently in her seat, holding her head; it was clouded and throbbed with fuzzy pain, but she'd live.

The ride back to the mansion wasn't too long - or, at least it wasn't to Xora. Her perception of the world around her was temporarily warped. As soon as they arrived, Levi parked in an underground garage and helped ease Xora out of her her seat, again scooping her up in his arms.

Once they entered the lobby, he rushed Xora over to a room she'd never seen before: it looked like a decently normal living room, with couches lining the walls, a giant flatscreen TV set up on one, and a fireplace underneath the appliance.

Levi set Xora down on one of the couches, herself letting out a slow breath once her mind finished reeling. He stood to leave, probably to retrieve Hanji or Eren, but she stopped him with a swift grab of the hem of his shirt.

"I'm fine," she breathed, her other hand wandering to her bag. "Please don't worry the others. I don't wish to disturb them from their work."

"But Xora, you - " Levi started.

"No. It's important we keep this on the low for now. Those men were simply asking for a fight, is all." Levi kneeled in front of her, her knees on either side of him, and tenderly took her hands. A small smile crossed her lips when she saw the reluctant expression he wore. "Worry not, Levi. I told you I'm able to protect myself if the situation calls for it."

"You're still hurt," he denied, letting out a small sigh. "I'm always irked whenever we seperate, because you always end up being an idiot and you injure yourself."

Xora leaned her forehead against his. "I am alive."

Levi breathed another heavy sigh and pulled away, headed for a small dark wooden cabinet. He returned with a small first aid kit, popping the lid open to pull out cotton balls. Soaking them in cleansing alcohol, he grit his teeth. "I'm sorry for this."

"Just do it," Xora deadpanned. Levi first started with her elbows, dabbing the scraped, raw skin and blood away with several shocks of pain jerking up her limbs. She bit down heavily on her lips, but restrained herself against the pain regardless. After her elbows he treated her knees, then proceeded to wrap her joints in bandages before finishing up and tossing the kit aside. "Thank you, Levi."

"It's all only for you," he said quietly, resuming his kneeling position in front of her. "Really, you're the only brat I've seen get injured so much within small periods of time."

"I apologize for the inconvenience, and it's only because of you that I am able to recover so well. I am eternally grateful to you, my captain." Xora pressed the back of her fist to her chest over her heart, nodding her head solemnly.

"Don't talk like that," Levi scoffed, pulling her wrist away from the salute. "Now tell me, what information have you gotten from the shop?"

"Desjardins went into the shop to meet with the con-artist we've been looking for," Xora explained. "Sylvane Piquet is the grandson of the owner of the antique shop, and it seems he has been managing it for a long time, now. Desjardins must've come in to meet with him."

"You met Piquet?" Levi reiterated in slight disbelief, eyebrows slightly heightening. "What a coincidence."

"And did you find out anything from following Desjardins?"

"She seemed in quite a rush to leave the town. I followed her to a dark alleyway where she got into a dark car with a driver I couldn't identify, then they sped away. Afterwards I went back to our vehicle, but you did not show at the set rendezvous time. That worried me, for you're always punctual, and so I..."

"Please don't fret," Xora whispered tenderly, ashamed to have caused her superior so much stress. "You should not worry so much over a subordinate."

"You're not just a subordinate, dammit!" Levi grabbed her face and looked desperately into her startled irises. "What if those men had also done something to you, Xora? And I wouldn't be there in time again! I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something did happen, don't you realize?! You're my - my - "

He faltered. Frustration and regret was shown on his sharp features as he released her, holding his head with his hands. He shrunk to the floor and sigh once again, only this one seemed more labored.

Xora didn't know what to do; what was wrong with Levi? What was he trying to say? To express? She'd taken a course about body language and human expression before. Levi seemed to be tormenting himself, over-analyzing and too calculating. In a situation like this, she did the only thing she could think of.

Sliding off of the furniture, she laid her arms around his shoulders and embraced him dearly, pressing his face into the crook of her neck.

"Everything will be okay," she recited, remembering in a lesson that what people in that state needed was comfort. "I promise that I will always..." What was the last part? A furrow crossed her brow and she struggled to retrieve the memory, but it just wouldn't come back to her. Instead, she opened her mouth to say something else - but she was interrupted when the door clicked open.

A figure stood in the doorway, frozen with an astonished look. Their face lit up a crimson color and they looked ready to cry.

"Heichou," they choked out in a sad voice, one hand ruffling through their hair. "I didn't know the reason you kept saying no was because of... this."

It was Eren.

**[not edited]**


	22. Code XXII: Sunken Hope

"Eren, you're - " Levi started, jumping to his feet, but the young boy cut him off.

"No, I'm sorry if it ever felt as if I were imposing," Eren insisted, but his voice was shaking. His eyes became wet and he bolted.

"Eren!" Levi shouted, rushing to the door before he threw Xora one last glance. She looked at him with an expressionless face then he, too, ran - straight after Eren.

She didn't know how to feel; was her first attempt at comforting another human being good enough in the first place? And why in the world did Eren have tears in his eyes, even when he was smiling? Was he hurt? If he was, why was he hurt?

Rising to stand, she slightly stumbled due to the aching in her joints before fully straightening, deciding that if she were to exercise, she'd heal. Moments later she was already striding through the halls, headed for the exercise room as intended. She only stopped when she passed an ajar door with the hushed whispering of no other than the two men from within. It would've been the consciously right thing to do to keep walking, but one remark stole her attention.

"There is absolutely nothing going between XX and I," Levi whispered forcedly. "She is simply my subordinate and I am her superior. We are co-workers and I have no feelings towards her whatsoever."

Actually, Xora had stopped unintentionally. Her muscles hitched and she couldn't move; sparks flew in her brain and she suddenly crumpled to her knees in the carpet.

"Then how do you explain why the two of you were so close just now?" came Eren's voice. It was trembling, and through it Xora could hear he was obviously weeping. Why was he weeping?

"We were simply rehearsing for our roles as Rivaille and Seraphina. Her past performances were unfit and exercising them was unnecessary."

Why couldn't Xora move? She willed her body to rise to its feet once again - but instead it seized up and she felt something warm trickle down her face. Finally her body listened to her; her hand went to touch her cheek and she felt something wet. Withdrawing her hand, she saw there was warm liquid drenching her finger tips.

 _What_?

What was this?

The sparks in her head were now absolute chaos. Why was there such a hollow pain in her chest she could not place? Why did it affect her so harshly? She stumbled from her spot to her feet and dashed as quickly as she could away from that door. There was no determined destination set in her mind, but when she came to, she found herself standing right outside of the exercise room.

Rushing inside, Xora speeded over to the full-body mirror on the left side of the room, grasping both sides of the frame. She was astonished to find that she... was crying.

What?

 _What_???

Tears continuously slipped down her face and dripped to the floor, the whites of her eyes tinted pink. She roughly scraped at the wetness with the back of her hands and the collar of her shirt, but the tears would not yield. What was this?  _Why was this happening_?! Eventually she collapsed to her knees and simply stared at her reflection, eyes stuck on her own empty gaze. She stayed this way for a long, long time, and somewhere along the way she must've fallen asleep, for when she woke, it was barely dawn.

Finally her cheeks were dry, but her lids felt swollen and heavy. She groggily rose to her feet and swayed over to the bathroom within the exercise room, this one less luxurious than her own in her bedroom, but useful nonetheless. Stripping of her clothes, she turned on the shower and let it run ice-cold. Her bandages also fell to the floor, her knees and elbows covered in nasty scrapes freshly scabbed over. After disposing of the used strips, she slipped straight into the shower. Though the frigid water stung her skin, it also placed a hand over the fogged film of her mind and wiped away the condensation, leaving her head crystal clear. 

Time seemed to fly; she didn't exit the shower until her lips were a plum color, skin more pale and transparent than it usually was. Her body was shivering, but she could not feel the cold. Xora fluffed herself dry with a few towels and left one smaller one wrapped around her shoulders to soak in her hair. When she looked through the wardrobes within the bathroom she could only find clothing designed for excercise, but in this situation, what ever was fine.

Xora donned a sweat-wicking sports bra with a matching pair of shorts, keeping the towel draped around her shoulders to dry her hair. Frustration met within her when she looked in the mirror to find her strands stilll dripping wet, her long bangs covering her face.

"I am in desperate need of something new," she muttered to herself, rummaging through the cabinet drawers of the sink. Her hands felt a first-aid kit and within it a pair of metal scissors, pulling them out with satisfaction. Facing herself again in the mirror, she took in a documentation of herself; her wild tangle of hair hung to below her waist, the color faded and lighter at the tips. Xora divided her hair into two sections and set them rest over her shoulders, covering her torso.

"Goodbye," she whispered unregretfully, and took her left portion of hair. With one fell swoop, she snipped close to her chin and the entire length fell to the tile floor. A few strands had escaped the wrath and she randomly slashed them off before proceeding to the other side, the entire thing also meeting the rest of it on the floor. There were still several long strips of hair left, to which she haphazardly chopped off.

Once the task was done, she deposited the scissors in their original place and scooped up what was left of her hair, face neutral as she tied it with a rubberband in a scrawled fashion. She hoped to donate it to a better cause where others could use it when she did not need it. After her freshly cut hair was done drying, she effortlessly ran a brush through it without a single problem, impressed with the nice change.

Although Xora had to admit, the ends were extremely uneven, but that did not concern her. At least her sudden thirst for a rush burst of change was quenched, and now the trouble of taking proper care of her hair was gone. She exited the bathroom, freshly replenished, and went straight to working out.

Time blurred past her as she merged from stretching to jogging to lifting weights to working her core. There was nothing to fill the silence of the large, dank room but the sound of her panting, the rush of her blood pumping through her veins, and her grunts of effort. Satisfication bubbled in her with every rep she made, for it meant she was progressing in her fitness. Her physique was improving every time her muscles burned and ached with fatigue.

It was not until the sound of the door clicking open did she realize how concentrated she was, and that sound alone broke her focus. She had been benching, working on 125 lbs.,  **[56.7 kg]**  and that one sound alone caused her arms to plummet, the bar almost slamming into her chest. It took all of the remainder of her strength to shove the bar up into the air and back onto its stand.

With her chest heaving and sweat coating every inch of her body she sat up, wiping her upperlip with the back of her hand. Clattering drew her attention again, whipping her head to the side to find Levi standing there in astonishment. What made the noise was a clipboard, a water bottle and a granola bar which had somehow found their way to the floor - probably Levi, who had dropped them.

"Xora?!" he exclaimed, frozen.

"What is it?" she asked him, casually striding over to a set of hooks where she retrieved a small towel, using it to wipe away the sweat around her face and neck.

"Your hair - ?!"

"Yes, my hair. What about it?"

"What did you do?!"

"It does not concern you," she answered him blatantly. She turned to him and stared into his wide gaze coldly, sighing heavily. "Is there anything you need?"

Levi blinked a few times and looked prepared to say something, but stopped and cleared his throat. He picked up the fallen items and strode over to her, handing over the granola bar and water.

"I - I had not seen you all day and we all missed you at our three regular meals," Levi muttered, eyes moving away once they saw how bare her built body was. She did not mind. "My best guess was you were in here, and decided to bring you a snack."

"Thank you for your concern. I apologize for not checking in with the three of you earlier."

"It's fine."

Xora twisted the cap of the bottle open and chugged the entire bottle before tossing it in a recycling bin, tearing open the wrapper of the bar to chomp into half of it. Levi was still simply standing in the same spot as before, his striking gaze trapped on her every move.

"Tell me, Levi," Xora suddenly blurted, unable to stop herself as soon as she finished the bite of granola. "You seem to care so much more for Eren than you really show, don't you?"

"What makes you assume that?" was his answer as he tensed, taking a seat on the bench press.

"I apologize for this, too - it is extremely shameful of me, but it seemed as if my body would not listen to me. It happened to be so that I overheard some of your conversation with Eren yesterday."

Levi's body went totally rigid; he was silent for an entire minute before he sighed heavily and massaged his chin. "What did you hear?"

" _We were simply rehearsing for our roles as Rivaille and Seraphina,_ " she repeated from her memory. " _Her past performances were unfit and exercising them was unnecessary._ "

"Was that all you heard?"

"Yes," Xora lied, unable to relay the fact that she'd heard him say there was nothing going on in between them, and that he felt nothing towards her.

"I can't tell why you'd assume so, then," Levi countered; he knew she was lying, and Xora gave way.

" _There is absolutely nothing going between XX and I. She is simply my subordinate and I am her superior. We are co-workers and I have no feelings towards her whatsoever._ " The thought of the words alone made Xora's eyes strangely wet again, but she blinked swiftly to disperse the excess liquid. There was no sense to letting them fall now.

Levi swore under his breath and proceeded to massage his temples. "I..." he trailed, unable to finish his sentence.

"There is no explanation needed," Xora cut in abruptly. "I cannot blame Eren for thinking there was some type of romantic relationship in between the two of us. In fact... I think I may have mistaken that, too, but I did not realize it until you made that remark. It seems so foolish now, but I may have mistaken everything that you've done for me until now as something more than what it truly was. I'm sorry for having had caused so much distraught - I've become too naive, Captain. On the journey of this mission, I've forgotten that I am simply an agent of the Iridescent Empire, and that I always will remain that way."

"Don't say that," Levi said blankly, but it almost sounded as if he were begging. Xora was unable to meet his eyes, tossing the other half of her granola bar in the trash can. Although she barely had anything to eat that day, her appetite had entirely diminished.

"I must speak with Eren also, to explain this misunderstanding. Thank you for clarifying this with me, Levi." She nodded at Levi with a small smile, but it had such an extreme amount of melancholy in it that it made Levi's jaw drop slightly in regret. "I think you've shown me something special, Levi, even if you did not intend to. It seems to have changed me greatly. Now there is no need to worry, for I have finally realized my true standing."

Wrapping the towel around her shoulders, Xora bowed her head and went straight for the door, opening it before she exited soundlessly. She continued forward and that strange feeling of hollowness came forth again, the wetness once more returning to her eyes. Her feet hesitated to spin her around and return to Levi, to talk to him and see him and feel him and know that he was there - but she did not.

She did not because instead a hand clamped around her wrist, and a voice cut through her clouded head.

" _Wait._ "


	23. Code XXIII: The Care Nor the Need

Xora was torn between tearing away and relenting, but in the end she chose the latter. It was her turn to be shocked; it was not Levi who had grasped her, which was what she expected. It was someone who she would've never even thought of seeing: Armin Arlert.  
  
"Armin?!" she exclaimed, her eyebrows shooting upwards. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"I - I'm sorry!" Armin cried, releasing her whilst flailing his arms. "I - I didn't mean to l - listen in, H - Heichou insisted we s - surprise you and I was w - waiting outside of the door because he t - told me he was going to send y - you outside but it ended up b - being so much more serious and I - I - I didn't know what to do!"  
  
"Calm down," Xora sighed, a strange sensation of relief filling her chest at the sight of an old friend. "If you're expecting me to be angry, I am not. It does not matter to me whether or not you overheard our conversation."  
  
"Oh... then, I - "  
  
"Just come here, you strange one." She grasped onto both of his hands gratefully and gave them a tight squeeze, pressing her lips into a thin line. "It is great to see you again."  
  
"A - and you, XX," he stuttered.  
  
"Why is it that you're here? Didn't you have operations to work on back in North America?"  
  
The blonde boy chuckled nervously and turned a crimson color. "Well - yes, but you see, Commander Erwin sent in formatting for an operation he'd concocted to Hanji this morning. And to carry it out, they needed more manpower, especially of work in my field, so... I ended up coming!"  
  
"That sounds fine," Xora said with a nod. "I presume you needed to retrieve me to rendesvous about the details of this mission?"  
  
"Exactly that."  
  
"Then let's get going, shall we?"  
  
"There you are!" a voice chimed, breathy and panting. Xora peered over Armin's shoulder to see Eren dashing over to where they stood. When the brunette boy approached, he took a few broad moments to catch his breath before stating, "We're to meet in the - the data room. Hanji and the others are waiting for us."  
  
"Us?" Xora repeated, her eyebrows furrowing. "Armin, did more people come with you than you stated?"  
  
"I never said it was just me," Armin chuckled, turning to greet Eren with a warm handshake. "Many, many people have joined us on this mission, XX."  
  
"Why is that? Erwin would never do such without a great reason."  
  
A sly smile came upon Armin's thin, pale lips. "It's because we're going to try and catch the killer."  
  
\---  
  
[Data Room]  
  
Xora stood in the Data Room with many more people than she could've imagined would've been let on this mission (it did feel rather awkward, for she still only wore what she did while exercising). It all meant only one thing for them, though: it was that they knew they were so close to Death's door, and that they were to accept death at any given moment.  
  
Her cold, calculating eyes darting around to gaze at several anxious faces, she skimmed through the database in her mind that she'd collected by reading the Documents under their names.  
  
Levi's entire personal Special Operations Squad was present - this meant the operation was going to be a large-scale one, that required absolute perfection. Projects like these didn't allow a single mistake, for even the slightest one could mean casualties. After all, the squad was made entirely of Alpha-ranked IE agents. They went by the names of Petra, Gunther, Eld and Oluo - all of whom looked around Xora's age, if not a few years older.  
  
The only Alpha that was not involved in Levi's squad was Mikasa Ackerman - someone in close relation with Eren, whom was of outstanding physical talents. Talents that rivaled Levi's, or even Xora's herself. From taking a look at her file, she had a rather unpleasant past experience involved with human trafficking, then afterward with Eren and his mother's death. Perhaps that was why he was so knowledgable about the Titan organization; his past was deeply interwoven with them.  
  
The only Betas involved on the entire mission itself were Eren and Armin, but they were wide exceptions, as Erwin was the one who assigned them to this specific job.  
  
"It's nice to see so many of you all here!" Hanji greeted, her body buzzing with excitement. "We have some of the best soldiers of the Iridescent Empire huddled around in this room. Oh, just the static crackling in the air makes me jump!" She giggled and jumped from foot to foot, clapping her hands.  
  
"It is wonderful we got this opportunity to work with someone of such high calibur," Petra nodded toward Xora.  
  
"In efforts to be modest," Xora responded with a bow of her head, "it is I who is honored to work with such valiant agents."  
  
"So humble," Eld murmured under his breath, nervously flickering his eyes back to Levi, who stood wordlessly beside Hanji with his arms crossed stoically in front of his broad chest.  
  
"Your hair!" Eren cried suddenly, hand quickly going to his mouth.  
  
"Ah, I was wondering about that also," Armin commented with a quick nod, averting his gaze to his hands.  
  
"It's rather uneven, isn't it?" Xora muttered, taking a strand to glance at the ends. "I did cut it rather haphazardly, but I have not a care for it. Let us leave that matter to the fact that it is less bothersome."  
  
"Shall we get started?" Hanji interrupted as she surveyed the large group, all surrounding the frame of the center table. There was a chorus of grunts in agreement and the woman clapped her hands again, grinning from ear to ear. "Then we shall start! It's quite a big mission, so I'd like you all to give me your full attention, and exercise your retention skills to their extents."  
  
She unfurled a large poster with the details of their missions scrawled everywhere - as usual - and began at a small map of the underground subways of Paris.  
  
"Alright. The killer we are attempting to capture and detain is dubbed 'Eagle' though I am sure you all know by now. I have received information from one of my skilled clients that Alan Clark, one of our main suspects, is planning to meet a discreetly unknown figure in six days' time at the station two, also known as Port Dauphine. There we will have just about everybody but Armin and I out in the field; you all are going to heve the jobs to pursuing Clark until you encounter this pursuer, then split from there and shadow your targets in smaller gourps.  
  
"It is only assumed that this figure is Eagle with the information I've received, although I can never be entirely sure. I also received word that there will be an exchange of material of some sort, so keep your eyes open and try to identify what it is. You will each be given specific gadgets that correspond to your own abilities. Remember, they are designed to be something that will extend your abilities and enhance it; they are not tools you can completely rely on.  
  
"Each of you will be disguised as normal civilians for this mission. I know that there are a particular few of you that rather excel when more discrete, but this operation does not allow for it. I have no idea what the two are planning to conspire about. After the two split, here are how the groups will go: the Special Ops squad, Eren and Archangel are going to go after Eagle. Mikasa and Levi, the two of you are going to follow Alan and observe his actions in case of any irrational actions he may make.  
  
"Every single person will be wearing a camera where Armin and I will be monitoring your surroundings in the case of any emergencies. You'll also recieve comm devices as usual for keeping in contact. There is no information in our archives on what Eagle is capable of doing, so I heavily advise that the each of you take extreme caution in every move you make.  
  
"For the people who are pursuing Eagle, track his moves until he winds up in an isolated location, or a place that cannot be seen by public eye. There is when you should approach him. This operation will last until midnight of that day; by midnight I expect us all to rendesvous here at HQ. If the chase is to continue on past that time, simply contact us through the comm device and feed any intel you've received. All we want is to assure of your safety. Preserving and protecting each other's lives are of utmost importance on this mission, and I hope you all understand that."  
  
"I have a question," Mikasa piped up, slightly raising two fingers. "Is this Eagle involved with the Titan organization?"  
  
"That we don't know," Levi answered, speaking for the first time. "All we do know is that he has heavy ties with Clark, Lamar, Desjardins and Blanchet. Eagle is being paid a healthy amount to keep his mouth shut, meaning for all we know, he could be a hitman. I've been going through our database on serial killer hitmen, but so far nothing has come up. Connection between Piquet and Eagle is currently unknown, for we can't assume anything yet. "  
  
The mention of the con artist's name made Xora flinch - hard. Everyone's attention drew to her and she sighed heavily, scrunching up some of her hair in her hand.  
  
"Is there something wrong, Codename XX?" Oluo mused, raising a single eyebrow. She stepped back and bowed low, her torso at a ninety-degree angle with the floor.  
  
"I deeply apologize!" she exclaimed, not raising her head. "I have made the idiotic move of not reporting to Hanji the details of yesterday."  
  
"Raise your head," Levi commanded, to which Xora did obediantly, and though her face was set in stone, shame was written across her icy irises. "What is it?"  
  
"The antique shop I observed, Captain. Sylvane Piquet happened to the the present worker right after Desjardins hastily left the store. I was not able to collect any intel on the purpose of his actions besides what he looks like and his name."  
  
A small sigh mixed into a groan emanated from Hanji's lips. She pursed them and readjusted her wire-frame glasses, rubbing her chin as she thought. "This... does change some things," she enunciated.  
  
"Piquet could've given something to Desjardins or told her something that may have changed Clark's schedule in six days' time," Levi said softly, wrinkling his brows. There were a few minutes of silence, a strange sensation crackling in the atmosphere until Hanji finally spoke again.  
  
"For now we will leave that matter be," she decided, pushing up her glasses to rest upon her head. "If there are any changes made to this operation, I will notify you all within the timespan we have until the operation commences. Until then, prepare with whatever fits your comfort zone." She rolled the long poster back into its scroll-like position. "You are all dismissed. Eren, please our new team members to their rooms, then we may begin our welcome party."  
  
\---  
  
[i heavily suggest you play the music now. <3]  
  
[00:00]  
  
Just as the clock in her room struck midnight, Xora's eyes flickered open, her lax self standing beside the windowsill of her bedroom. The sheer curtains fluttered lightly with the breeze that floated through the wide open panes, mixing with the air of her bedroom. She could hear her team members on the lower level with their loud cheering, music and the sound of glasses clinking. Though there was a slight chill with the air against her bare skin, herself wearing a loose tank and shorts, it felt more replenishing if anything.  
  
Her eyes drifted downwards onto the sill, where in between her hands sat the pocketwatch she'd retrieved earlier. She was thankful her purse still sat in the same place it did the day before, for if she'd lose such a valuable apparatus, she'd be frustrated beyond belief. Inside the back cover she'd replaced the small slip of paper, still wondering what the characters meant.  
  
The initials of 'X. A.' combined with the set of numberes '02.20' - what could it all mean? There were so many possibilities. The hands of the clock were not spinning; the device was currently not working, but with her index fingertip she spun the minute hand around and around the face repeatedly in a daze.  
  
There were so many events that occurred that day, she had not yet the opportunity to comphrehend them.  
  
A knock on her door shattered the one opportunity that finally came.  
  
"Enter," she called quietly, and her door cracked open, light flooding momentarily into her room. It closed again with a click; she already knew who it was without turning around, swiftly shutting the pocketwatch as she swiped it off the sill and slipped it into her waistband. "Levi."  
  
"Xora," his velvety voice came, and within moments she could feel the hot air of his breath against the back of her neck. "Wouldn't you care to join everyone else downstairs? They all seem to be having fun, though they're drunk."  
  
"I have not the care nor the need. What do you need, sir?"  
  
"Drop the sir. Are you alright?"  
  
"Why would you think I was unwell? I am perfectly fine."  
  
"That's a lie." He came around to her side and faced her, leaning against the sill on his elbow. "Tell me... what did you mean when you said I'd shown you something 'special'? That I have 'change you greatly'?"  
  
"I shall leave that for you to interpret on your own account," Xora answered quietly, not averting her gaze from the splotchy night sky. "After all, I am not sure I know it myself. All I do know is that what I said is not a lie, and you did show me something special, therefore changing me."  
  
"Is this something a good thing?" he asked curiously, tone light.  
  
"It is. It's a very beautiful thing, indeed."  
  
"Then I'd like you to show me what this beautiful thing is." Very gently, he urged her to face him and looked upon her features with a look of indifference. "Even if you're not sure of it, it must be an easy thing to show."  
  
Xora's eyes widened and her heart began to race in her chest, her lungs constricting as she struggled to breath. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head, stepping backward.  
  
"I apologize," she insisted, holding her hands up in front of her. "I cannot - I cannot do such a thing to my superior. I am an agent, Levi. I'm simply a tool to better the future of humanity."  
  
"You always forget that you are human, too." Levi took a step forward, wearing something even close to a smirk. "You aren't a robot, Xora. There are times where you must give in, and realize that without our labels, we are all exactly the same."  
  
"Please. If I don't restrain myself now, I - "  
  
"Then don't restrain yourself. I want to see something beautiful too, Xora."  
  
Then, very suddenly Xora moved, her hands snatching the collar of Levi's button-up. She jerked him close, face nearing his so quickly it made even her head spin, herself standing on her tiptoes. But... she stopped.  
  
With her lips hovering right above his, her brain was erratic to figure out the next move: lean in?  
  
Run away?  
  
What?  
  
What should she do?  
  
What should she not do?  
  
What should she try?  
  
Should she try?  
  
Shouldn't she?  
  
"No," she whispered, breath gracing right upon Levi's lips before she shoved him back, also staggering backwards herself. She wrapped herself in her arms, trembling. "Leave."  
  
"Xora?" Levi wore a look of confusion, stepping forward with his arms outstretched, but Xora was hysteric.  
  
"Please, I said, leave! If you do not leave, who knows what I'll do?!"  
  
"I'm not afraid of - "  
  
"LEAVE!"  
  
Levi was frozen momentarily before his face reverted back to its neutral state, but his eyes shone with melancholy. Wordlessly he headed toward the door and exited, his leave completely silent. Xora, still shaking as she held herself crashed her back against the wall beside the window, slowly sliding down until she was crouched upon the floor.  
  
"Doesn't he know?" she whispered to herself, holding her chest. "Doesn't he understand the danger of love when one could die in the next hour? Doesn't he know the first time one pronounces love could be one's last?!"


	24. Code XXIV: Operation Start

The next six days passed in an absolute blur; Xora tried to avoid Levi as much as possible, unable to even look at him without feeling a wave of regret crashing over her head. Never was she so mortified; how could've she talked to her superior in such a demeanor?! Whenever they'd end up in the same room, she'd exit quickly and avoid eye contact. Several times he'd tried to strike up a conversation with her, but she either ended it quickly or pretended she did not catch what he'd said.

During the meal times everyone would eat together in the dining hall, but Xora's appetite seemed to gradually diminish; she ate very little, mostly snacks, which she'd bring to different parts of the mansion to eat on her own. It felt a bit more comforting that way, with only her and solitude.

Half of the time she was in the exercise room, keeping her physical abilities within the same field whilst keeping her mind off of... unnecessary things. The maximum of her capability rose with every passing rep, jumping from 125 lbs. to 140 lbs., which made her feel more than satisfied.

The other half of the time Xora occupied herself with one of two things: either inspecting the pocketwatch and trying to dig up whatever memories she could of it, or bonding with the new members of the mission. Petra was a particularly kindred spirit; Xora grew a great liking to her, for she seemed very warm and tender with every word she spoke.

Though Oluo had quite the sharp tongue and bullied Eren constantly, she'd taken a liking to him, for he had many quirky spects that entertained Xora to no end. Eld and Gunther were at first rather timid and tense around her, but they loosened when they watched her accidentally fall down a flight of stairs after wondering too much about that little unnecessary something. She was fine, of course, yet it did remind the two men that she was indeed only human like them.

Mikasa was quite a peculiar one. She stuck to Eren's side from what Xora could see, and her physical abilities were spectacular when she observed her. They sometimes happened to be in the exercise room at the same time increment, and their forms matched almost evenly. It almost made Xora smile to know there were such agents like her working for the IE, regardless of their intentions.

Armin, of course, was just as sweet to Xora as he always was. It was him who kept Xora company the most; he often spoke with her on the different technologies being developed back in North America, and the different cases that had come up while she was over in Europe. Not too much had happened - except for the fact that Armin finally found something that would help Xora's personal mission.

He was the only living being on the very face of Earth that knew of her intentions of uncovering her past, and she knew he would be a great asset because of his genius mind.

"I've found some information on Captain Levi," he'd whispered lowly - two days before the operation start. They were sitting together, alone in the library. "A - although if he hears what I've uncovered, he'll skin me for sure."

"He won't," Xora reassured him. "Whatever you've found is crucial to me, Armin. Thank you so much for this... and I can't even imagine how hard it was to obtain it."

"It was really complicated." Armin glanced around nervously then sighed. "I had to hack into our most secured database to find it. Although I did get in, I could only glance through a few of his files until I was locked out again."

"What did you find?"

"...His surname. Captain Levi's surname is 'Ackerman'."

"Ackerman?" Xora furrowed her brows, rubbing her chin in deep thought. "As in, the same as Mikasa's surname?"

"That was my first thought, too."

"Why would he keep it so discrete, then? I don't see why a surname would have to be kept hidden so well."

Armin shrugged, his face indifferent. "Who knows. Perhaps he wanted to get rid of some roots and keep his background as obscure as possible? Whatever it is, I don't think we'll ever know. I'll continue to look for whatever I can, but I have to admit that I'm not making that much progress. A lot of it is up to you to uncover, XX."

"Alright then," Xora breathed with a nod. "Again, thank you for this Armin. I think it may be a bigger clue than you think."

Within the last two days, Xora did spend a lot of time looking through all of the accessible databases of the surname Ackerman. Not much came up, besides some topics tied to Mikasa. There seemed to be nothing else that appeared to be an outlier; the only other options that came out were a real estate company, an author and a hospital.

By then she'd run out of time and the sixth day finally approached her. 

Everyone wore designated disguises, and luckily, Xora's happened to be more casual than she'd thought. Her form was purposely rugged and more scruffy, but it looked quite stylish nonetheless - unsurprisingly, Hanji had been the one to choose the disguises. Xora's consisted of deep black square half-frames, her hair ruffled and with randomly displaced bobbypins clipping back choppy pieces of hair.

Her outfit was more low-key, if anything; a striped button-up overlayed with a navy sweater, dark pants and casual sneakers. Just as she was finished up tying her sneakers, a person approached her at the bottom of the left lobby staircase.

"Yes?" she addressed, not glancing up from the laces on her shoes.

"Codename XX," came the smooth voice, and instantly Xora went rigid. She hastily finished tucking the aglets into her shoes to avoid tripping on them and stood, coming face-to-face with none other than Levi. Levi  _Ackerman_.

"C - captain Levi. Is there something you need?" Her face began to feel hot, all of the embarrasment rushing back to now. Gaze flickering around, she desperately searched for an opening where she could avoid conversation, but there was none. She'd just have to face what she'd been dreading up until now.

"I know you may not want to talk to me," he said in a voice of melancholy, "and I know I may have made a mistake six days ago. But despite all of that, please... I ask that you wear this. No - I command that you do. It's an order." Xora looked over to see that in between his thumb and forefinger was a ring - one that looked exactly like the one she'd worn the night of Germaine's death.

"I assume it holds the same purpose?" she asked, clearing her throat as she took it in her own fingers.

"Exactly. And... don't hesitate to use it. Please use it if anything happens at all."

Xora was silent for a few moments, but nodded, slipping it onto her right ring finger. "Yes, sir."

"No no, it looks better like this." Levi removed the band of gold and transferred it to her other hand, where he cleanly slid it onto her left ring finger. "See?"

She flexed her fingers and didn't say anything, only muttering a brief 'thank you' before sidestepping him and walking away. Although she kept her casual facade as well as she could, her heart was racing erratically due to the small smile that had appeared on Levi's lips the moment the ring was intact.

"Alright everyone, gather round!" Hanji ordered, beckoning everyone over by the front door. "Let's go over some last-minute details and refresh our memories. I hope these past six days have given you enough time to prepare for this mission."

"Has it changed at all due to the information XX recently gave you?" Oluo questioned, an indifferent smirk upon his face.

"No, it hasn't. Now - I want to highlight the encounter with Eagle. When the six of you approach her, the Special Ops squad and Eren will be the first to intercept them. As soon as you do, use all means to capture Eagle alive." The brunette turned to Xora, a glint glazing over her thin wire-frames. "Archangel. We all know how dangerous this person can be - hell, this person is a serial killer. A new one with no background and no information we can pinpoint on them."

"I know what my role will be," Xora interrupted, one finger tapping her chin. "Even though the Special Ops is known for their absolute skill and ranking, it will undoubtledly not be enough." Many hurt and aghast looks flashed her way but she continued speaking. "Because of my stealth prowess, I should be able to come in only when the best opening occurs. It would be to our advantage if I could deal the finishing strike."

"Right on, just as I'd expected from you," Hanji tributed, nodding. "That is exactly why I specifically assigned Xora to follow Eagle. Now, each of you have gotten your disguises and your gadgets already. These were both designed to you and your skills specifically, so use them at your discretion." She set her hands on her hips, staring each IE agent in the eye with a deadly gaze before grinning largely. "And now... let the operation  _commence_! _  
_

\---

**[At The Station]**

Xora was in position not even twenty meters away from where Alan Clark sat casually on a bench at the underground subway station, a tablet in her hands to extend her disguise even further.

"Forty-five seconds until designated meeting time," Hanji's voice crackled through the comm device, tuned to a nicely suitable volume. Xora's, thankfully, was hidden under a pair of specifically designed headphones - ones that would instead magnify and record voices. She wouldn't be able to hear them, but back at HQ both Hanji and Armin would be able to understand everything. "Everyone, in places!"

Sitting beside Xora was Gunther, dressed as a businessman in a rush. His gray striped suit was crinkled at his elbows and knees, but his briefcase and slicked-back hairstyle gave him a look of authority. Petra and Eren stood seperately with the crowd of people waiting for the next bus, the both of them dressed rather casually, like her.

Eld had a position as one of the station workers due to his retention and mockery ability, as well as his general quietness overall. Although, Levi had the closest spot; he stood with his back leaning against the pillar right beside where Alan sat, his outfit rather... well, odd. Hanji  _did_ pick it out, after all. They'd spent the entire night tattooing the fake prints against his neck and arms, although they weren't even too exposed - it made Xora reminisce about the tattoo already on his back. It was the one with differently colored wings painted onto his shoulder blades, wasn't it?

His outfit consisted of pieces that were entirely black: his coat, his jeans, his boots, his scarf, his hat - they were all within the same color scheme of a neutral black. Upon Hanji's insistence, he even wore clip-on studs and earrings, along with artificial lip, nose and eyebrow piercings. Out of all disguises, his was the most intricate and well-done. The dark sunglasses that rested upon his nose were square-rimmed and tinted very deeply, a dark choker wrapping around his neck.

It took great amounts of effort for Xora to pull Xora back to stop staring at him; he looked like a young, rebellious teenager, but everyone knew he was anything but that. There  _was_  a reason he was called the dog of the IE.

Thankfully, her attention  _did_ get pulled away. It did as a strange figure crossed her path - one who wore a long, dark evergreen trench coat, their face masked with large sunglasses and a mask that covered the lower half of their face. A black beanie hiding their hair, they took their seat right in the empty spot beside Alan.

The person was their designated 'Eagle'.

Xora could hear nor understand anything over all of the commotion of the subway, but out of the corners of her eyes she could see Alan's lips moving. Eventually the two made very subtle moves, of which Xora could see was a passing of a manila envelope. Alan tucked it under his arm, a smug grin upon his face as he stood and left, sauntering away.

Eagle also rose to their feet and began to hastily rush in the opposite direction - the one which they came from.

This was it.

When the target had moved far enough ahead in the crowd, Xora stood with a casual demeanor and also began to trek in that direction.

Now, it was  _truly_  time to commence the operation.

 


	25. Code XXV: Under the Cover of Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapter contains graphic depictions of violence and gore. you've been warned d; although if I do say so myself, they're not THAT bad... lol

Keeping her distance, Xora waited until Eagle disappeared ten, twenty, then thirty meters into the bustling crowd, then stood from her seat casually. She entered the large throng of people and - still maintaining her casual composure - started to trail the killer. As her eyes scanned over the heads of people she could see the other five also in pursuit, carefully preserving their disguises.

Eagle acted strangely; rather, it was almost  _too_  strangely to be true. Their demeanor was anxious and untrusting, their head constantly veering from side to side as if to look out for someone. Beneath the fabric of the pockets in which their hands were inserted, their hands were constantly fumbling around.

Once the other five had set their tracking devices to tail Eagle, they split routes; their path of pursuit finally went aboveground into the city. From there the six of them separated; Xora chose to stray a street over, her own tracking device - her tablet - keeping tabs on their location. It was shown with a small red dot and a map of France, keeping track of both her own and the other's locations.

"Have the six of you secured Eagle's location?" Hanji's voice crackled into the comm device, a chorus of 'yes's stretching over the audio. "Good. Continue pursuit, and don't hesitate to put the gadgets Armin designed to use."

"Roger," Xora clipped.

"Oh, it wasn't just me!" came Armin's voice sheepishly, to which Xora could easily imagine the young boy flushing as he spoke. "I worked with Commander Erwin to finalize the designs and personalize them to the best extent."

"You did great," Petra complimented him over the device. "Worry not, Armin."

"Levi, have you and Mikasa been keeping tails on Clark?" Hanji questioned.

"Well, there isn't anything else to do is there, shitty four-eyes?" Levi's voice scoffed through the device. "It's quite boring. All he's been doing for the past fifteen minutes is look at some old bakeries."

"I agree with Captain," Mikasa mumbled. "The most we're doing right now is sight-seeing."

"Just continue that," Hanji instructed. "Make sure to survey if he makes any moves with the envelope. Try to find out anything about its contents, too. Mikasa, I know Armin gave you a few tools that could help you with that."

"Roger."

Xora resumed her walking in silence, spotting Eld striding ahead several dozens of meters ahead of her. Had she really fallen that far behind?

The process of the pursuti continued rather uneventfully - save for the fact that Eagle made many sharp turns and travelled in circles for hours. That alone made the process of following them much harder; it would be quite suspicious to see the same person walking behind one even as they made many circlular paths, wouldn't it?

Even so, the six managed to keep their covers until the sun began to hide behind the horizon. It then continued to be swallowed up until night; that was the only time when Eagle decided to deviate from their path - under the cover of night.

They strode through town until coming upon the border, by which they began to leave the urban area. At that point the six of them had much more trouble finding trails to take themselves, for Eagle took trackway on a trail in a deep forest. The dark was not helping, but thankfully Eren and Gunther were equipped with night-vision glasses. The both of them gave directions through the comm devices.

All was well and quiet until the time reached around eleven-fifteen at night. The next shock to come was by a large surprise; Eren had exclaimed, "Eagle's disappeared!"

"What?!" Oluo burst through the communication device, causing Xora to flinch from the sudden spike of volume. "How could you lose him?!"

"We can't assume Eagle's a man," Gunther reminded him through the device at a much more satisfying volume. "I can't spot Eagle, either. It seems they knew we were following all along."

"We should regroup," Eld suggested. "From there, we can begin pursuit faster. Perhaps they've just gone farther ahead, and it'll be much easier to direct each other with two night-vision set of eyes."

Everyone came to an agreement and met in a small clearing between a break of trees, the ground littered with decaying leaves and wood. From there they devised a plan of travelling forward at a jogging pace, keeping formation in a diamond shape to keep not only a peripheral view of surroundings, but detect over a larger sweep of land. Eren kept position at the very front, where as Gunther tailed the rest, both with their glasses regarding the forest.

"Do you see them ahead?" Petra panted, shouting over to Eren from her spot on the right of him.

"Not anyone in sight!" the brunette boy responded, his own chest heaving. "Stay close! We're going to squeeze through a few trees!" Everyone heeded his instructions and tightened formation as they slipped past a pair of thick oak trees.

"Everyone," Gunther suddenly started in a low voice. "I think we've got - " But his speech was quickly cut off.

"Gunther?!" Eld cried, skidding to a stop. His team members followed suit, astonished to find Gunther was gone from his position in the formation. "Gunther!" The five of them backtracked and were horrified when they discovered his bloody body hanging from a thick branch of a tree, several slash marks upon his mutilated body. Petra screamed and covered her mouth, resisting the urge to vomit.

Xora felt numb. How... how could she lose one of her comrades so quickly? Plainly, right in sight, she could see one of her companions dead - but only a minute ago, he was as alive as she was. How could this be?

"Run!" she commanded with all of the strength left in her, her voice jolting the rest of the team. "Everyone, our main priority now will be keeping Eren in our protection! He has the last pair of NVG! If we lost those, we'll be at a loss in the darkness!"

It took a split seconds for her still-stricken team members to register her instructors before they bolted off, the sour taste of regret in their mouths. They would have to come back for Gunther's body later. The remaining five of them formed a square shape around Eren as a centerpiece, his eyes frantically darting around to find Eagle.

"E - Eagle knew all along!" he despaired, choking back tears.

"Eren, focus on finding a clear path out of here!" Eld demanded. "If there's one thing I know for sure in this darkness, it's that Eagle is directly in front of us!"

"What's the plan, Hanji?!" Xora asked, but nothing came through the comm device. In fact, all the she could hear was the faint scratching of static. "No... don't tell me - ! My comm's been jammed!"

"Mine, too!" Oluo grunted in distress, his brows knitting deeply together. "Dammit...! How can one person have the upper hand?!"

"Oluo, Eld," Petra panted, rubbing her wet eyes hastily. "We have to go ahead! If there's any chance Eren's going to get out of this situation alive, we'll have to take Eagle out ourselves."

"Let's do it," Eld agreed. "We've got no other choice!"

"What?!" Eren protested, his pace slowing. "No! I can't let you do that, I - I can fight too! Please, don't throw your lives away over me!"

"It isn't just for you, Eren," Petra claimed, choking back a sob. "This is to avenge Gunther, and this is Captain Levi's order!"

"We'll carry it out until the end," Oluo affirmed with a nod, sneering. "We'll do whatever it takes to reprimand Eagle!"

"I'm afraid there won't be much need for that," a garbled voice cut through the crisp air, the five skidding to a rough stop. Eld was right in his prediction; not even ten meters away stood the heavily obscure figure of Eagle, only their silhouette visible against the faint light of the moon.

The three remaining members of the Special Operations team rushed into a line in front of both Xora and Eren, their poise ready to fight. They wasted no time in jumping forward to take the first strike; the three of them charged.

Whipping out weapons from compartments hidden in their disguises, Oluo, Petra and Eld struck. Eren - that stubborn boy - disregarded their intentions of solely protecting him and started forward... but they suddenly froze.

A deafeningly high pitch suddenly began to resonate throught the air, causing all five of them to freeze in their exact positions. Xora's mind went into overdrive; what was happening?!

"High frequencies that travel through space until they reach the victim's brain through the ear canals," Eagle's disguised voice explained; it was a voice that sounded like five different people talking at one time. "It briefly disturbs and confuses the Motor Cortex of the victim's brain, therefore temporarily confusing and disabling movement."

_English... they spoke fluent english._

"No!" came Petra's scream. In the dim moonlight Xora could see Eagle reach into their pocket... and pull out a thin flip-blade knife. Through the time fraction of the blink of an eye, Eagle had flashed forward, the entire blade of the large knife embedded into Eld's gut. He could only emit a grunt before Eagle withdrew the knife and drove it right back into his body again, only this time, in the chest. Eld slumped over and fell to the ground, a scream ripping again from Petra's throat.

"B - bastard!" Oluo roared, but he could not make another move. Xora's blood was rushing; her attempts at moving were futile, the strange technology still in effect. Her body quivered, heart racing at the sight of her dead team member.

Memories flashed through her mind.

_Bloody, mutilated corpses, torn open, with their fleshy insides strewn around their mauled bodies._

_Smiling, pale faces, blood decorating their grins._

_A pair of trembling hands gripping onto the handle of a bloodstained knife so tightly, the knuckles were turned an ivory color._

_"My... friends..."_

Snapping back to reality, Xora found herself too numb to move.

"You're next, girly," Eagle taunted, sauntering over to Petra. A playful tone decorated their disorienting voice.

"No! Petra!" Oluo bellowed, his body inching in her direction; it seemed that sheer willpower drove him. " _Don't you dare touch her, you bastard_!" Petra writhed in her frozen position, stuck in the position in the middle of a sprint. A silver six-barrel pistol was equiped in her right hand, still pointed straight in Eagle's original direction. Streams of tears cascaded down her cheeks as Eagle placed the tip of the blade - stained in Eld's blood - against her chin.

Another cry of torture resonated from her lips as Eagle dragged the blade downwards, creating a large gash from her jawline to the base of her throat, gushing forward a river of blood. Petra was outright sobbing, begging for Eagle to stop, but a chortle came from the lips of the killer.

"Alright, alright, I'll put you out of your misery," they relented. In one fell swoop, they whipped a kick around and straight into her gut, slamming her body into the thick trunk of a nearby tree. Her spine snapped with a sickening  _crack_ , skull splitting against the wood.

Petra's sobbing was replaced with silence.

"Petra!" Oluo cried again, this time a melancholy note in his voice.

Eagle cackled in that strange voice of their's, sauntering over to where her body rested against the tree. They leaned down and took hold of the six-barrel pistol, each of the slots fully loaded. Cocking the gun into position, they resumed a casual stride over to the frozen Oluo, placing the muzzle against his left temple.

"Good night," Eagle spoke, then pulled the trigger once. A sharp  _bang_  cut through the air and Oluo fell to the ground, unmoving. With the suspense hanging in the air, the faceless Eagle turned to the last two remaining. "I think I'll be taking you, kind sir. There wouldn't be a reason to kill you, now, would there? You're very important to the Titans."

"You're with the Titans!" Eren exploded, hot tears brimming his viridescent eyes as Eagle wrapped an arm around Eren's throat, dragging his limb body along with them. They walked slowly backwards, the pistol pointed straight for Xora. "Unhand me!"

"No. I think I'll practice my shot, I haven't had practice on a live target in a long time."

"ARCHANGEL!"

There was a series of bangs that took place after his scream of desperation - five in total.

Eagle had fired the last of the rounds, four of five making their mark. Two bullets in her right shoulder, one in the left, and the last in her gut. With a cough, a bout of blood spurted from between her lips and she, too, crumpled to the ground.

"Archangel, no!" Eren roared, tears escaping from his fervent eyes.

"Eh, I've got to work on it," Eagle murmured to themself. They lowered the weeping Eren to the ground and made their way over to Xora - the rasping, barely alive Xora, whose world was already fading in and out from view. "You're not even dead yet. I suppose I'll have to get rid of you by other means, am I correct?"

Xora had not the strength to make a smart comeback as she felt herself be lifted off of the ground and slumped over Eagle's shoulder. The wounds emanated nothing but complete and absolute agony, their simple presences nearly bringing tears to her own eyes. With every step Eagle took, her blurry view of Eren and the sound of his crying became further and more obscure, Eagle's shoulder digging into her stomach.

She had to do something.

She had to do something, or the deaths of her team would've been for nothing.

Although it caused the greatest pain Xora had ever felt, she directed her right arm over to her left, nearly screeching from the agony. With trembling and nearly immoble fingers, she jammed down the diamond and tore it off of her left ring finger. Mustering all that was left of her strength, she wrenched her body to follow her commands and tossed it as far as she could in Eren's direction - right before he disappeared from view.

If anything, she hoped Levi would come to save Eren.

"Ah, here we go," Eagle simpered, their pace finally coming to a stop after what felt like an eternity of them walking. "Have a nice night, now."

And with that, she felt her limp self get lifted off of Eagle's shoulder, then tossed through the air. She was suspended for a split second before gravity took effect and she fell, her back hitting the cold surface of water.

The liquid was frigid, so frigid it ripped all of the air away from her lungs and left her nothing to gasp but that unforgiving water. Body so utterly weak, strength so utterly sapped, Xora could do nothing but sink. Even the slightly murky water - most likely belonging to the river Seine - was beginning to show the wisps of red mixing in from her blood.

Though at this point all Xora could feel was the torture form her wounds, there was slight content in a small smile that tugged on the corners of her lips. At least she knew Levi would have a headstart at Eren's direction, if not his exact location. That ring would serve as a placemarker of Eren's current position.

Xora was alone.

Alone in the deep, dark water, in the dead of night; by now, she predicted the clocks all around Paris would strike midnight.

Her vision was truly beginning to fade now, body becoming even weaker.

She probably should've been afraid, if anything... but she did not even feel the slightest pinch of fear. There was nothing but slight satisfaction.

Xora's eyes slowly drifted closed and a small, last bubble formed past her darkening lips, headed straight for the surface.

Perhaps now would be the right time for her to let go, and loosen her grip on life.

So she did, and finally succumbed to the darkness.

But one last question did gnaw at her, at her mind, at her heart, no matter how much she resisted it and fought against it. Even as the last thought formed and left her blank mind, this one stuck relentlessly.

Even when she slipped away, it still prevailed.

...Would Levi make it in time to save not only Eren, but her, too?


	26. Code XXVI: My Dearest Friends

The moment Levi's felt the vibration reverberate through his finger from the ring, he went rigid. Gunmetal eyes flickering over to his watch, he read the '23:59' with a jolt before snatching his tracking device. He'd programmed his seperately with the help of Armin, installing a tracker for the ring he'd given Xora.

 

It'd been activated.

 

"Mikasa!" he shouted from his position right outside of Clark's personal mansion, abandoning his spot. "The others!"

 

She didn't question him any further as he broke into a run, headed straight for the dense thicket of trees. Once they'd launched themselves straight through the treeline Levi tore off his jacket, revealing the strange metal contraption wrapped around his waist. Mikasa did the same with her own long overcoat, the same device upon her hips.

 

Immediately, with the push of a button, the two leapt off their feet and two cords shot thirty meters forward, grappling hooks lodging themselves into the trunks of trees. A loud hiss of gas filled the air as they glided forward with inhumane speed, every few seconds blasting the cords forward again to pull them forward.

 

Cold sweat drenched the back of Levi's neck; this time, there was a bad feeling devouring his stomach, for the circumstances as the last time were not the same. They were as opposite as can be, and for all he knew, she could even be dead by the time he reached her.

 

"Faster," he growled, becoming more desperate with every passing moment. "Faster, faster, _faster_!" With another push he was able to nearly double his speed, dragging Mikasa along with him on her own account.

 

"Heichou!" she called in warning. "If you continue at this pace, you're going to run out of gas very soon!"

 

"We're almost there!" He snarled, flashing himself farther even faster. "Just a little _faster_!" The dot on his tracking device wasn't even fifter meters away anymore; hope grew in his chest. But his gas gave out on him, leaving nothing in that metal canister attached to the back of his contraption. He lost altitude almost instantly and was sent tumbling down the thickets, grunting and groaning as he tumbled over rocks and fallen, decaying wood.

 

"Heichou!" Mikasa cried again, lowering herself. "They're up ahead!"

 

"I know," he groaned, staggering to his feet. Without another moment to waste, he shot off immediately, retracting the limp cords of his device. Mikasa did the same, but she diverted her path and went off in a different direction.

 

"More to join the party?" came a voice, sauntering towards Levi's location. They strode nearly twenty-five meters away, nearing with every step. "Your friends had so much fun. Look around, even!"

 

Horror dawned upon Levi's face as he glanced around to see the bodies of his squad, their own blood drenching themselves. Eld, laying with two wounds in his torso - deadly, fatal wounds. His empty eyes stared up to the night sky, a thick trail of blood leaving the corner of his lips.

 

Petra - oh, Petra. Her spine was shaped at an irregular angle, body propped with her stomach pressed against the trunk of a nearby tree. Against the dark wood was splattered her blood, the past impact so bone-crushing it'd leaked blood from her head. Oluo laid against the ground nearby, a single bullet hole piercing straight through his temple. His head was turned toward Petra, dried tears still staining his gaunt cheeks.

 

But - but where was Gunther?

 

"Gunther's fifty meters in that direction," panted Mikasa, who'd just arrived from the western direction. "He's... he's dead." A sinking feeling dropped in Levi's gut and he pursed his lips, clenching his fists. "Eren...? Eren!"

 

It was a strike of luck; Mikasa rushed forward and slid, landing beside Eren's unmoving body. The boy was most definitely conscious, but tears streamed freely from his eyes. An arm's reach away, a ring was placed on the grass, a small red light from the inside flashing every few seconds.

 

"You're alive!" she exclaimed with happiness, helping him into sitting position. She tightly wrapped him in an embrace, slightly rocking back and forth, her cheeks flushed a bright red.

 

"Unfortunately, now that she's arrived, it wouldn't be smart for me to stay," Eagle sighed, stopping straight in their tracks - ten meters away from where Levi still stood, frozen. But he was no longer as he suddenly appeared in front of Eagle, slashing a dagger right across their torso. Eagle leapt backwards, clutching the long gash across their chest before wavering slightly.

 

"Where is she?" Levi seethed, his eyes flashing with lividness. There were lines etched straight into his face from the grimace he wore, absolutely laced with loathing.

"I'm afraid you'll have to find her yourself," Eagle coughed, falling to the ground.

 

"Tell me where she is!"

 

"Bye bye, now."

 

"You _sick_ bastard!" Levi dashed forward again and thrust the dagger forward, lodging it straight into Eagle's chest. He was left with shock after the entire outfit fluttered to the ground in a heap of heavy fabric.

 

Strangely, Eagle's body had somehow... disappeared. Disintegrated into nothing, leaving only their clothing behind. It was almost like a magic trick - except it didn't leave Levi amazed; it left him brimming with fury.

 

"H - Heichou," Eren sputtered, gritting his teeth. "East - the river. Ch - check the river!"

 

At Eren's clue he bolted, unable to stand still any longer. Fear and dread ate at his skin, his insides, his brain - he wanted to save her. Where was she? Was she really in the river? Nothing but misery plagued his mind, only the worse scenarios appearing in his head.

 

He ran with all of his might, though there was little air left in his lungs. Although his vision was already hazy, he refused to stop, pushing and pumping his legs to carry him on even further. His heart felt as if it were going to burst; the mental and physical pain was too overwhelming. The bruises and scrapes on his skin throbbed and burned, but he ignored it until he reached the banks of the river.

 

Immediately, he kicked off his boots and ripped off his accessories, plunging straight into the dark water. It was gelid, the frigid cold biting at every inch of his skin. He was exposed and felt almost naked, the water clinging onto him relentlessly. Kicking his feet with as much strength as he could muster, he dove deeper and deeper into the unforgiving water.

The murky liquid was too obscuring; he could see absolutely nothing. Panic electrified his body, frantically waving around his limbs in a frenzy to somehow get a hold on something, _anything_! Yet, his air was running out, and from beneath his skin he could feel a million needs prick at the surface.

 

His body did not listen to his mind and flipped upwards, kicking towards the surface. They did not stop until his head broke the water, gasping and sputtering for fresh air. Shaking his head, he gulped another breath of oxygen before diving back down, resuming his method of searching for her.

 

How much time had passed already since she'd been placed under water?

 

One minute?

 

Five minutes?

 

Ten?

 

...Even more than that?

 

Levi refused to think of that and pushed himself even lower, hoping to scrape the bottom of the river - but from where he searched desperately, even he wondered whether it was simply a bottomless pit. The cold was beginning to seep in, now; his lips were turning a darker, pale lavender, pale skin blanching even further. If this were to continue, he could suffer even worse rather than if he died.

 

Once more he visited the surface and drank his fill of the cool air.

 

This time would be his last time of attempting to find her; if he did not, there would not be another chance. If he were to dunk under a fourth time he'd surely die of hypothermia, or worse.

 

  
_He could not let his squad's deaths be in vain_.

 

For the very last time he pitched back into the water, gathering the last of his rapidly disappearing strength to push himself even lower. His ears were aching, his head was throbbing, and every part of his body hurt. It'd been such a long time since he'd felt so much pain, and never since everything hurt so simultaneously.

 

With every stroke he pushed himself lower, retaining the last of his air as tightly as he could. The color of the water became darker and darker with every kick that drove him forward, until eventually, he reached the brink where he knew he had to turn.

 

One last time, he extended an arm, reaching out for something - anything, _anything_! Anything at _all_!

 

And... latched onto something.

 

Mind going beserk, he pulled this something forth and it was revealed to him that this was indeed a human's arm. He dragged it against him and frantically searched with his hands to find the person's face. Upon them, once he'd located the person's lips, he desperately held his fingertips against them to feel for a breath - any at all... but no bubbles rose from in between.

 

Pushing himself to the brink he kicked until the surface was within reach, bringing along the person with them. With no hesitation he shoved their body onto the bank of the water and dragged himself up too, gagging and retching a mouthful of water. With the hem of his shirt he wiped his mouth before turning his head to the person.

 

The person was, indeed, Xora.

 

"Xora!" he called weakly, crawling over to where she laid still upon the damp muddy grass. Trepidation coursed through his veins when he spotted the three bloody gun wounds that left clear marks upon her body. With one trembling hand he set it upon her turned-away cheek and turned her head to face him.

 

Tears were nearly drawn to his eyes when he saw the blanched blue color of her lips, slightly parted - with no breath exhaling from between. He shoved back whatever feelings he could and put one hand on her chest, right beneath her breasts, and place his other right on top of it. Right away he began jerky compressions, pressing hard and quickly; one, two, three...

 

...twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

 

"I'm sorry for this," Levi whispered as he tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it up, the other holding her forehead. Leaning forward, he place his lips upon her own icy-cold ones and breathed an entire breath into her body. Again he breathed in deep and pushed whatever air in his own lungs into hers, pulling away with a light head.

 

Levi resumed compressions and breathed into her body with even increments. By the third try nothing had changed; he was becoming desperate and tired, frustration tingling around his distraught mind.

 

"Please," he begged breathing twice again. "Please! Xora, please, come back." He tried again for another two rounds, and when even then she did not take a single breath, the desperation brought tears to his eyes.

 

Taking her into his arms, he cradled her, tightly pressing her drenched body against his chest. "You promised me, Xora. You can't break that promise!" His teeth gritted harshly, he let a single tear escape, falling straight onto Xora's cheek.

 

The warmth of his hot tears was like a flame in the night, for the moment it graced Xora's skin, she jerked. Her body rolling onto her side, she vomited a large bout of river water before her body calmed, chest rising and falling rapidly as she took breaths.

 

"Xora!" Levi cried, again wrapping her into his arms. He was filled with exuberance at the sight of her chest moving slightly with the breeze of her breathing wafting against his skin. Although she was alive now, although he'd gotten her back to consciousness, her life was still in danger. Gently setting her on the ground, he removed his shirt and tore off the sleeves, using them as tourniquets to block the open blood flow from her shoulder wounds.

 

With the rest of his shirt he tore it into one long strip and used that to slow the blood from the wound in her gut. After he'd taken care of her wounds he hoisted her onto his back, staggering at the weight and with sapped strength. Refusing to give up, he jogged forward, returning to the location with Mikasa. She, too, had Eren laying against her back; he was still unable to move on his own accord.

 

Guilt filled Levi when he realized there would be no way he could bring back the bodies of his squad. He was silent for a single minute before deciding with Mikasa that they'd have to come and retrieve the bodies later.

 

And so, they went ahead, starting off in the direction of Clark's mission to reach their vehicle. Levi threw one last look behind as Mikasa took off, tightly gripping onto Eren's limp body.

 

"My comrades," he whispered to the crisp night air, turning away slowly. "...Thank you. My dearest friends."

 

Then he, too, took off.


	27. Code XXVII: First Plead

_You really don't remember? I hope you do... I hope you can actually hear me, in the first place._

 

 

  
_Your grandmother was admitted to my family's hospital after she had a fall; that was when we firs_ _t met each other. Don't you remember? I remember that flower you gave me... It was the second thing I ever considered beautiful in this world._   


 

_We were the best of friends; where else could've you gone when your grandmother was in the hospital so constantly? My mother thought it was great I'd finally found someone I got along with. She was afraid I would end up lonely because of my attitude and stingy personality... heh. She was partially right._

 

_It went perfectly. It went about so perfectly, don't you remember? Our lives. They were peaceful and advanced on without waiting for us, without allowing us to recover from when we stumbled. A few times we nearly got left behind, but I believe we caught up fairly well._

 

 

_That is... until the incident._

 

 

_You remember, don't you?_

 

_Or... I guess... you don't._

 

 

_\---_

 

_Fire._

 

_Everything was set ablaze in an angry forest of flames, only the hues of orange and a bloody crimson painting all in her vision. Her aquamarine orbs stared blankly at the kindle, mesmerized by how such beauty could ever exist in the world, how one so spell-binding could take one's life away._

 

_"Xora!" screamed a voice, the voice brimming with panic and worry. "Xora, run!"_

 

_A sudden jolt by the pulling of her arm, stumbling her forward. Unable to move a muscle, she fell to her knees and continued to survey the ravaging flames consuming everything around her._

 

_"We have to go! Or you'll die!"_

 

_But she was still frozen. She'd seen how the flames burst to life; she saw the way the match, lit, fell to the ground and incinerated the wooden floors. The scene in which it consumed the last person precious to her played out right in front of her spellbound eyes, such a young one unable to do anything._

_In a situation like this, she was powerless... and yet, she could not relent to the pull. Though she could feel the scathing, white-hot heat that scorched her skin, she could not bring herself to shove forward._

 

_"Please," the voice begged, the word cut off a with a small sob. "Please darling, let's go! The - the smoke is getting thicker!"_

 

_"Then leave," Xora whispered, the lit flames reflecting in her glassy orbs. 'I - I can't leave my Granny..."_

 

_'Granny...'_

 

_\---_

 

Xora woke with a gasp, shooting up in bed with an astonished look of reminiscence dotting her wide eyes. Her chest seized, spasming, and pain began to emanate from her torso; she could not breathe, could not let air in, and clutched her chest; mouth open in a silent scream as she struggled for breath.

 

"Oxygen, give me the oxygen!" a panicked voice screamed, Xora heaving forward and collapsing into a pair of strong arms. Though her vision was hazy, she locked gazes with a gunmetal pair of hues, something cool pressing against the area around the lower half of her face. Cool air rushed into her lungs the next time she took a breath and what felt like a thick wave of clarification spread the cloud of her head. The arms that held tight gently returned her to laying on her back, head rested against something fluffy and plush. Her erratic breathing slowed, eyes shut tight, and her racing heart calmed to a regulated pace. The arms slowly slipped away, but Xora's hand darted out and latched on, grip vice.

 

"No," she rasped, barely able to speak. "P - please don't let g - go."

 

"Then I won't," a ravishing voice came, though it was dampened by lament. All was silent after that, only the sound of Xora's wheezy breathing and the whirring of machines filling the cool air.

 

"Where's... Petra?"

 

"You don't remember?" the voice asked in slight surprise. Xora's memory jolted and she cracked open her eyes, the blurry image of her bedroom ceiling coming into view. Her gaze swiveled around lazily until she dropped it to her bedside, eyes landing upon the doleful face of none other than Levi. If her shoulders and torso weren't aching like a bloody hell, she would've shut him out instantly - but in this instance, she desired nothing more than for him to be by her side.

 

"They..." she trailed, faltering into silence. Gathering the strength, she dug deep into her foggy memory. "...They're gone. And E - Eren?"

 

"Eren's perfectly fine," Levi responded, placed another hand on her's. "Well, physically. He's... he's been torturing himself over this." Xora was silent, contemplating what had happened that night; familiar stabs of pain flashed through her mind but she shut out the memories that threatened to force themselves to the surface.

 

They were gone... and it was because she couldn't protect them. In her head she'd planned that she would protect the lives of the people she'd become fond of, so afraid of the very outcome that came true. She squeezed Levi's hand harder, gritting her teeth.

 

"A - and you, Levi?" she inquired, struggling to find her breath again. "Are you... okay?"

 

"We should stay away from that topic," Levi responded, adjusting his position to sit closer to her weak body. "Xora, I think we should be far more worried about your wellbeing. Are _you_ alright?"

 

"Physically, n - no." Xora's breath was short and puffy for moments. "Everything h - hurts. Mentally... not doing well, either. If... if everyone's going to d - die like this, what's the point of creating b - bonds in the first place? If all of the people precious to me are g - going to disappear... why should I feel such emotions? Over and over again?" Her voice was filled with an unfamiliar lament, tears of regreat beading at the corners of her eyes. She blinked them away and simply held tight onto Levi's hand, unable to speak with the heavy weight upon her chest.

 

"I used to think that way, too," Levi murmured in a quiet voice. "Sometimes I still do. But that was until I realized that even though people I loved would leave my side, eventually they'd come back. Whether in this life or another, we would reunite in the future. Not one ever truly disappeared... they simply tread farther ahead at a sprint, while I'm taking a nice, slow stroll.

 

"Or perhaps it's fact that such bonds and relationships are so beautiful. They make you feel... happy, that's what they call it." Levi twisted around and looked at Xora, the tiniest melanacholic smile playing along his lips. "It's very lonely, Xora. To live like that, to be so afraid of the pain of losing someone precious that you'd rather not cherish someone so much."

 

"I'd very much rather be lonely than experience that pain again." Xora's breathing finally steadied. "...I already do. It's hard to lose everything you have more than one time."

 

"You've finally admitted it." Levi gazed out the window across from him, the same one by which he and Xora had conversed on that fateful night. The glorious sunset seemed to mock him, the sight so beautiful, when reality was as horrid as can be. "You're lonely, aren't you?"

 

"...Very." Xora followed his gaze and, too, locked her eyes upon the dying sun. "But I don't plan to change that anytime soon." Levi laughed a humorless laugh, the sound dry and sarcastic.

 

"You're a very cruel person, you know that, Xora?" he sighed, entwining their fingers. "I don't know how you put me through the torture every day and still not feel any guilt over it. And still yet, it makes me want you even more. What kind of man am I, to fall prey to your petty tricks? Ridiculous... absolutely ridiculous."

 

"What do you mean?" Xora questioned him, her brows furrowing together. This was an unfamiliar sensation, this feeling in her gut; what was it? Anxiety? Worry? Concern...?

 

No. She _had_ felt this before. When or where or why, she could not recall, but it was just barely familiar; only very slightly did she recognize it.

 

"I mean what I said," he replied, finally turning to lock their eyes again. "But I've run out of patience. What do _you_ mean? Even though you almost never put it into words, although your face is nearly always as unreadable as a blank blook, your eyes always give it away. Don't lie to me; I know you think the same as I."

 

"I - I - " Unable to find a proper answer, Xora's mind was left floundering, struggling to find an answer to his question. Never in her life had she found it so difficult to find such a simple solution. "I don't - "

 

She was cut off with another one of Levi's brittle 'heh's. "Never mind my question. I'm sorry - I shouldn't be pushing you so much. You only just woke up." Levi slipped his fingers out of Xora's grasp and leaned over, gently pressing his lips against her forehead. "You should get back to resting now."

 

"Wha - ?" she sputtered, tearing off the oxygen mask. Reflexively she snatched Levi's collar with what little strength she'd collected, not allowing him to withdraw. Although there was pain emanating through her body, it was slightly numbed. "No, no, no - stay. Stay with me, Levi. Don't leave me like the others did." Her knuckles were white, fingers grasping so tightly onto his shirt it wrinkled the edges. Voice dropping to a harsh whisper, she begged, "...Please."

 

"You're just tired," Levi insisted, but his expression was wraught with hurt. "Xora, get to rest. It won't do any good to spend what energy you've collected on getting this anxious."

 

"No!" she cried hoarsely when he tried to pull away again, still clutching onto the fabric of his shirt. "Please, please don't leave me. Don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone... I don't want to be alone anymore." The shock of her comrades' deaths finally hit her, striking her in the chest like a mountain of sand. Tears that had been built and bottled spilled forth in desperation, face twisted into an expression of pure agony. "Please stay with me. I - I'm lonely."

 

"But if I don't leave, who knows what I'll do?" Levi quoted. Those were the words she'd told him that night, but now they meant all he had to hold against her.

 

"I - I - " Xora again faltered and broke into silent sobbing, releasing her hold on Levi's shirt. She caved in and gave up on his loyalty, instead covering her face with her hands. "Everything hurts. I don't care for what happens - I just need you here, with me. Please stay here, Levi."

He was silent for one minute, then two, then five. As soon as the fifth one passed, he wiped away the sorrowful look upon his face and took hold of her hand again - wet with her tears - and squeezed it.

 

"Alright," he relented, expression softening. "I'll stay with you." Xora's weeping had reduced to sniffles as she struggled to sit up, gaunt shoulders sharply prodding the loose patient's gown she donned. Levi gently took hold of her in his arms as she leaned her face into his shoulder, tucking her own arms around his waist. He cradled her for a long while, one endearing and warm and all around wonderful.

 

This was something foreign to Xora, but it made her heart feel as if it were fluttering; soaking in his warmth like a sponge, she bathed in his presence, breathing in his fresh scent. They exchanged no words, simply listening to one another's heartbeat.

 

Eventually Xora did fall into slumber, her body sinking limp on Levi's shoulder. He gently laid her back into her spot, wiping her face free of the wet tears. When he had finally tucked her in properly and replaced her IV, he was left with nothing but the slight hum of machines whirring again. Night had now properly fallen, and with the stress that he swore was going to give him white hairs, he settled back into the chair beside Xora's bed.

Not too soon after, he, too, had fallen asleep.


	28. Code XXVIII: Alleviating the Pain

The next time Xora woke, it was due to immense pain; her own yelp startled her awake.

 

"Oh. I'm sorry," a soft voice apologized, gentle hands around her stomach rubbing some kind of soft cloth against her skin. Xora blinked her eyes into focus and was suprised to find Mikasa wrapping bandages around her torso, the girl's expression indifferent.

 

"Wa - ter," she croaked, noticing the dry patchiness of her own throat.

"Eren, you heard her." There was some restless shuffling from the other side of Xora's bed, to which she realized the young boy was sitting. Socked feet scruffed across the carpet floor and out of the room, returning after a mere couple of minutes.

 

"Here you go, Archangel," he offered, handing over a half-full glass of clear water. Xora attempted to grab it by raising her left arm, but she flinched when her shoulder moved, another spasm of pain shooting up her arm. "Oops - no, let me help you." Settling back onto the bed, with one hand behind her upper back in support, he lifted the glass to her lips. Once her cracked lips graced the cool rim, she instantly downed the entire glass, the chilled liquid soothing her dry throat.

 

Once the glass was empty, Eren placed it on the nightstand. Mikasa finished wrapping Xora's knew bandages and stood, one hand holding long, used strips of bloodied bandages. Her gaze was fixed on Eren, to which Xora's own eyes drew. It was then that she noticed how tired he looked, the dark bags underneath his set of evergreen irises ten times darker than she'd remembered. His sclera was tinted a slight red, and his lids were puffy.

 

"'Twas not your fault," Xora reminded him, her voice still a bit scratchy. Forcing herself, she lifted her arm and set a hand on his shoulder, only able to nod once. "Eren, I know. Do not blame yourself for such; I was there, too. I understand this pain you are feeling, and please know that there is no point to suffering over this. Instead, turn it into something greater."

 

Eren looked at Xora with a slight expression of shock, but it melted into a small, forced smile rather quickly.

 

"Thanks, Archangel," he said quietly, lightly brushing his fingertips over the white strips wrapped around his temples. "But... how is that possible when I'm the reason you're here now? Like this - four bullet wounds?" He shook his head and held his face in his hands.

 

"Worry not. I am like this because of mistakes I made myself; it was my job to protect you, Eren. If only I had been on higher alert that night, I could've been able to save... everyone. Please, I ask that you don't fret over this but leave it to me. Perhaps I'll have the slightest chance of alleviating the pain that you suffer. You're much too young to be this sad, Eren."

 

"Aren't we all?" He lifted his head and flashed Xora another smile, and although it was very miniscule, this one was genuine. Placing his hand on top of the one that rested on his shoulder, he was silent for a few moments. "I should leave you to rest, now. Mikasa and I were only in here to change your bandages." The young girl readjusted the fitted dark tank upon Xora's torso, covering the bandages.

 

Eren stood and exited Xora's room, Mikasa trailing quietly behind without making a single sound. Once she was - at last - left in solitude, she could do nothing but stare at the ceiling; she didn't know how much time had passed, or what had happened in between. Her memory was only vaguely filled with lots of pain, simple exchanges in dialogue between others, and medicine - mounds and mounds of pills.

 

Of course, there was a very clear and distinct memory of a warmth that enveloped her like a blanket, offering comfort with just its presence, but Xora chose not to brood over it too much. With wandering eyes, her glittering hues finally landed on one of the digital clocks installed on the far wall of her bedroom. They widened when they spotted the date displayed beneath the large numbers; the day of today was exactly fifteen days since the start of the mission!

 

Xora - being the relentless knucklehead she was - threw off the heavy blankets and scrambled out of bed, falling straight forward onto the floor as she still could not stand on her injured leg. She cursed but was frantic; she _had_ to get to the exercise room, fast! Did anyone even realize how many days of toning and fitness she'd missed, simply laying in bed and moping around about a few measly bullet wounds?

 

Several muffled groans and grunts and cries of effort sneaked past her pursed lips as she twisted the knob of her door open and dragged herself out of her bedroom. Her shoulders ached and her side was throbbing and her leg was being absolutely tortured - but she could not give up, not now. Using her elbows to pull her along like a man in war, she crawled her way over to where the left staircase began to descend into the lobby.

 

"I didn't think this far," she panted to herself, cursing the fact that she did not think the entire plan through. Swiveling her feet around, she positioned herself in a sitting pose at the top of the long tile staircase, both hands gripping tightly onto the banister. Left leg first, she slid it out tentatively forward and placed it gingerly on the cold tile of the next step, sliding her bottom forward until she fell onto the next step.

 

Xora repeated the painful process until she approached the last five or six steps, beads of sweat already forming on her forehead, hands slick with perspiration.

 

"I can make it," she pushed herself, though her wounds had already seeped through the bandages with moist red stains. Breathing in deeply, she headed straight for the next step, left foot landing against the surface warily as she lowered herself down with the strength of her shoulders.

 

Unfortunately, her arms gave way and she lost her footing instantly, careening forward with a "Whoa - oh - oah - ooh - oof!" Tumbling down the last few steps, she plummeted straight into the ceramic flooring of the lobby, landing on her hip. She was left groaning loudly in pain, glancing over with a blurry vision to see a few puddles of her own blood upon the last few stairs.

 

Her head was gyrating at inconceivable speeds, unbearable throbbing aching throughout her entire body. Most particularly her shoulders hurt; they took the brunt of her fall.

 

A silent sigh of defeat resonated in her head when a few dashing pairs of footsteps came running in her direction, exclamations of "Archangel!" and "XX!" reaching her ears plaintively.

 

"So close," she grunted under her breath as several figures appeared in her vision, towering over her.

 

"What the hell are you doing?!" came - unsurprisingly - Levi's voice, filled with disbelief and anxiety.

 

"XX," Armin cried, a hand placed over his mouth. "Oh, XX."

 

"You're still not right in the head, are you?" Hanji sighed. "Well... it's not as if I am either, but... my, my! Do you have any idea how long bullet wounds are supposed to take to heal?! Especially when those bullets were chemically modified shotgun shells?!" The woman sighed exasperatedly again. "How are you still even alive...?"

 

"Well, if you're here now," Xora wheezed, "do you think you can assist me over to the exercise room? I've lost so much time to simply laying in bed; I'll go insane if I don't tone myself for any longer."

 

"You're already insane enough," Levi grunted, heaving Xora gently into his arms. She flinched - hard - and cried out loudly when her shoulder scuffed against Levi's. "Ah - no, I'm sorry." He shifted her position in his arms to a more comfortable position.

 

"You still feel pain?" Hanji questioned her as they began to trek down the main hallway in the direction of the data room - although, Xora had a feeling that was not their destination.

 

"A lot of it," Xora responded in a few short puffs of breath. "But not so much that it's unbearable."

 

"But why is she still cognitive?" Armin asked Hanji, his face wrought with anxious concern. His hands fidgeted nervously with the hem of his sweater vest. "I thought you've been keeping her on morphine this entire time?"

 

"I have," the brunette woman answered lightly, her voice laced with wonder. "I've been thinking about that, too. I think it's wearing off, Archangel. We're heading over to our personal clinic right now; I'll give you another dose and we'll see how that helps."

 

"No," Xora refused when Levi made a sharp right turn, straight into a white room with medical materials and machines everywhere. "Don't. I'll be fine without it; besides, I've hated this cloudy feeling in my head, lately. I don't believe I'm entirely cognitive, myself. If anything, I will put up with the pain with my own mental durability."

 

"Are you sure about this?" Levi laid Xora on a thin bed, the upper half raised slightly. "You were shot _four_ times. You're still only human."

 

"I'm certain."

 

"Alright, then," Hanji agreed reluctantly, tucking a thin white sheet over her legs. "But I'm going to have to put you under to entirely flush it out of your system without any gradual effects. Even now... I think about how lucky it is none of the bullets hit a major artery, or something. Your will to survive is incredible. I don't agree with this decision you're making, Archangel, but I won't do anything against your will. Just don't make me regret this later, alright?"

 

"I can't guarantee that, but... I hope you won't."

 

Hanji scoffed, a pained smile coming upon the eccentric woman's lips. "You could at least lie to me, you know." Getting rid of the air bubbles in the thin needle containing the drugs that would lull her into a dreamless sleep, Hanji poked the syringe into her skin and emptied the entire container. Only minutes later, the drowsiness began to take effect, Hanji carefully pricking the IV into the innerside of her left elbow.

 

"Hey, Levi?" she whispered feebly, her eyes muddy and searching wistfully around the ceiling.

 

"What is it?" he responded in a low voice, taking her right hand into both of his tightly. "What is it, XX?"

 

"Do you think... do you think the others died happy? Do you think I - I failed in protecting them, too...?"

 

"I think you did perfectly fine." Levi tightened his hold around her hand, pursing his lips with a pained expression. "I think they died valiantly, because we are going to succeed on this mission."

 

Xora seemed too distracted to register his words for a few moments before her lips curled into a small smile as her eyes finally drooped closed. "...That's nice." And she fell into slumber once again.

 

\---

 

**[Night]**

 

"It's been a rough day," Levi sighed as she set down his drink, sitting hunched over at the bar in their grand dining room. He was only halfway through his glass, but the others - meaning the trio and Hanji - had already downed an entire bottle each, excluding Armin. The young boy only had himself a soft cider drink, but the time was long past midnight.

 

Hanji - as expected - was more deranged than her usual self, guffawing at the sight of a chair she'd accidentally tipped over on her way over to grab a tissue. Mikasa was still stoic and kept quite to herself; she only ever really moved when Eren nearly veered over. He was spewing nonsense, wondering aloud about the color orange and the fruit orange, and why there was no other word to rhyme with 'orange'.

 

"Shouldn't we be getting to bed?" Armin suggested with a yawn, setting down his finished glass. "It's getting late."

 

"I'll bring Eren," Mikasa said immediately, standing as she picked up Eren's arm, draping it around her shoulders. She hooked an arm around his side and leaned his weight against her, already starting in the direction of the lobby staircases.

 

"Armin, can you lead Hanji to her chamber?" Levi asked the boy, leaving his still half-full glass in the sink of the bar. "I'm going to check on XX's condition."

 

"Uh, y - yeah," Armin responded, placing his own drink beside Levi's. He shuffled over to Hanji and took her arm, supporting her as they turned to the exit. "I've got her."

 

"Thank you." Now sure that his comrades would - well, hopefully - make it to bed safely, he started straight for the clinic, leaving the dining room with an air of muddiness. Thankfully he was the type of man to handle alcohol well; the others would never catch him in a drunken stupor, either.

 

"Oh, Xora," he whispered to no one in particular, shaking his head. "What has become of the now?"

 

But his lamentations were disrupted with the small, shrill scream the came from the clinic, forcing Levi into an instant run.


	29. Code XXIX: The Mystery of Mission O-17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: graphic depictions of gore and violence

Faster than a bolt of lightning, Levi shot off in the direction of the room and burst inside, exclaiming, "Xora! Are you alright?!" And his gunmetal irises landed on the writhing form of the woman, tears streaming from her wet orbs as she bit hard on her bottom lip to prevent from screaming again. Her hands frantically felt around the bed for some kind of hold, pulling at the white sheets surrounding her sweat-drenched body.

 

"Xora?!" he exclaimed, rushing over to her side. Gently grabbing her arms, he steadied her thrashing body, a dark red already seeping into the white of her bandages. "Xora, what in the hell is going on?"

 

"It h - hurts," she choked, her uninjured leg kicking away the sheets, the linen landing into a frumpy pile on the tile floor. "Everything... it hurts!"

"Of course it hurts. You didn't want to take the morphine." His own face was pained as he took Xora's right hand and held it in both of his, gently rubbing circles into her knuckles with his thumbs.

 

"Why does it hurt so much?" Xora rolled over onto her side and curled into fetal position, her fingers gripping so tightly onto Levi, the knuckles were a pale white. She trembled greatly, chest heaving as she seemed to gasp for air. "I didn't know - I had no idea it would hurt so _bad! So god damn bad!_ " Her sentence was ended with a breathy moan of pain, her wounds throbbing heavily.

 

"They _were_ shotgun shells," Levi whispered as he caressed her cheek with a gentle finger, eyes broken, lips pursed. "Xora... do you know what gun they used? What kind of gun, or even the specific model?"

 

"N - no," she gasped, letting out a few quiet, pitiful sobs. "It was P - Petra's gun. Petra... oh, Petra!"

 

" _Petra's_? Oh, no... no. It - it would explain why you feel so much excruciating pain." Levi bit his lower lip, his skinny eyebrows furrowing deeply together. "Her bullets were laced with a chemical that acts similar to a catalyst; it was designed to intensify the pain received the victim for twenty-one days after the first shot, even though it takes a while for it to go into effect. Petra's shot is immaculate. Hanji, Armin and I intended to use it to help detain Eagle, but... I had no idea they'd turn the pistol to _you_."

 

He cringed with every sound that came past Xora's lips, her voice hoarse and cracked. Though he knew he would come to regret it, his hand inched toward a sterile pan of syringes - the drugs Hanji was originally going to use to subdue Xora's pain. With trembling fingers, he gripped one and placed his thumb on the top of the stopper.

 

"...I'm sorry," he whispered as he moved her uninjured arm aside and slightly pulled up the hem of her tank, shifting the line of her shorts lower to fully expose the milky skin of her hip.

 

"Wh - what are you - ?" Xora started, but she was cut off as she felt the sharp prod of the needle sink into her skin. Levi hastily injected the entire canister before tossing the needle far away, the syringe hitting the wall in the corner of the room before clattering to the floor. "Levi, how c - could you...?

 

"I can't bear to see you like this any longer." Caving in, he folded his arm upon the bedside and buried his face in his arms, one hand holding tightly onto Xora's limp one. "I don't want to hear you cry anymore, Xora. But I don't know what else to do."

 

Her sobbing did indeed dwindle until it ceased entirely, her body still frozen in its contorted position upon the bed. Along with the dying of her sobs came the stillness of her body. Nearly an hour later, Levi finally lifted his head, having had worked up the courage to finally look her in the eyes.

 

They were indeed dry, dried tears crossing over her nosebridge and her cheeks, but they were empty. The usual brilliant blue was hollow and far away, not gracing the earth with its presence.

 

"Why?" Levi croaked, leaning in his face close to hers. "Why in the world did you want to put yourself through that pain? You didn't - you didn't deserve it, you idiot!"

 

"I did," was Xora's quiet answer in a deadpan. She slowly rolled onto her back, eyes staring blankly at the dank ceiling. "I still deserve it."

 

"Why?!"

 

"How else can I pay retribution for the pain I put the others through? If I can feel even the littlest bit of the pain they did right before they met death, perhaps I can repay at least a fraction for the mistakes I've made."

 

"They didn't suffer," Levi pleaded with her, trying his best to make reason. "Petra, Oluo, Gunther, Eld - I'm sure their deaths were instant. They didn't suffer as much as what you just went through!"

 

"And what about Amalia?" Xora questioned him, blinking slowly. "And Otto? Malcom? Barik, Selma? This is nothing... this is absolutely nothing compared to what I let them suffer."

 

"Otto? Selma? Who are these people?"

 

Xora closed her eyes, letting a slow breath from her lungs as she gave her one explanation: "The companions I lost on mission O-17."

 

\--

 

_I was only thirteen at the time; I only just reached the Gamma status mere weeks ago. Mission O-17: a simple task, to simply transport a discovered artifact from an excavation site to the laboratories not even twenty-five kilometers away._

 

_Amalia, Otto, Malcom, Barik, Selma - those are the names of the other Gammas, my partners. I'd gotten to know them quite well in the week before the mission started. It was quite exciting; many of them were in their early-twenties, and to be such a young girl working with matured people - my excitement is expected._

 

_Upon arriving at the excavation site, we were requested to transport this large, large wooden box with the artifact inside. It was to be carried upon a trailer pulled by a truck upon lower roads to avoid traffic and being too open. Malcom - the eldest of our group, a blonde with the kindest shade of blue eyes you'd ever see - was our designated driver._

 

_I remember so clearly that we started out, expecting to take not even a day to travel to the laboratories. Unfortunately, one of the tires to our truck was leaking air, thus we had to transfer to a caravan. It was quite a squeeze, but we made it halfway through our journey relatively without a hitch._

_As soon as the sun hid behind the horizon, we were attacked._

 

_At once, all four tires of the caravan exploded as though someone had slashed straight through them. Our vehicle nearly toppled over, but we were stopped with the front smashed into the front of a thick tree. We would be unable to move the vehicle in any direction._

 

_Though afraid, my team mates were far more level-headed than I; they exited the caravan to find that we'd stopped in the middle of a discrete forest route. Amalia, a woman of dark skin, eyes the color of cocoa, hair curled in the finest rings, she was the kindest of the group. She instructed me to stay in the car and keep quiet, making sure I kept watch on the relic._

 

_From outside the caravan I could hear shouting and lots of ruckus going about; eventually the shouting melted into screams and I could help releasing some of my own. I was absolutely terrified. Being the coward I was, I ducked behind the large box and kept hidden, though I didn't even know what. It was dark; I couldn't even see my own hands in front of my face._

 

 

_I remember it so clearly when the doors of the back suddenly opened. A hand grabbed my by the collar and dragged me forward, throwing me out of the van. There I went, tumbling before coming to a stop against something strangely wet. Everything hurt; my head, my arms and legs, my stomach - I just wanted to disappear._

 

_When my world stopped spinning, I built the courage to sit up, one hand against this wet, mushy material to support me. In confusion I gazed at this support - I wish I never had._

 

_Barik - one with dark hair and eyes, like I, his personality quite quirky - his body was completely torn open, his insides littering the ground around him. My hand was resting upon some of him, though I couldn't tell what it was. It was drenched in his blood and was too ravaged apart._

 

  
_I screamed and scooted away, scooted as_ far _away as I could - for that was not all. There was a person there -_ a person _\- and they were stuffing their face with Barik's entrails. The moment that shriek tore from my very lips, the person gazed up towards me - and their gaze, I'll never forget._  


 

  
_It was not human. Though the color of their eyes was a simple icy blue, that animalistic spark in their dilated pupils were of a savage demon's. Though I desperately scooted away as quickly as I could, my muscles were freezing and tensing - I could not move as fast. This - this_ thing _crawled over Barik's mutilated body and advanced toward me, but it was stopped when something suddenly tackled it to the side._  


 

_My savior was Otto, a redhead with green eyes more potent than emeralds, a man of very strong build. He'd tackled the Titan and began to wrestle with it, screaming for me to run and escape, to leave the artifact behind, but I couldn't move. I was... I was an idiot. An absolute idiot. All I could do was sit and stare in horror as the Titan bit into Otto's neck and devoured his flesh, his own screams filling the night air until they gargled and died into nothing._

 

_"Now now, there's no need to be so hasty to prove your worth," a voice said - an unrecognizable one, one that belonged to a different Titan. Out from the darkness - their face and hands stained with blood - stepped a white-haired Titan, their features gaunt in the moonlight. I remember they stopped the savage Titan from consuming Otto._

 

_I remember I asked them, "Why? Why are you doing this?" For they were the only words that came to my mind. The worst vat of bile began to rise in my throat when I spotted three other Titans come up from behind the white-haired Titan, their own bodies stained in blood. A voice at the very back of my mind told me it was not their blood._

 

_"We're going to rule the world," one said. "But before we can do that, we've got to prove we're capable of just that. We're going to take this world for ourselves; these shitty governments are doing a terrible job of that."_

 

_"You're Titans," I remember I told them, though at the time, I only knew the terminology was used for enemies of our Empire. They laughed at the fact and made tedious fun of the fact that I was such a little girl, working with adults._

 

_"We shall get rid of you," the white-haired Titan declared, and five Titans, all covered in blood, advanced towards me. There are no words I can use to describe the terror I felt - it felt so terrible I wanted to vomit. I was still frozen, unable to move, until I heard someone scream my codename._

 

_It was Selma who screeched it; she did at the very top of her lungs. The woman was very similar to me - dark hair, but her eyes were the color of the stormy skies. Maybe similar to yours, only lighter. Just the sight of her made my stomach curl and twist; half of her face had its flesh torn off, the skin of her left leg and right arm missing. Though she looked in the worst state, I cannot forget the look of determination she wore in her eyes._

 

_"You forgot about me, you nincompoops!" she shrieked, and it taunted the Titans very well. I can't erase the memory; the memory of all five of the Titans turning and dashing and pouncing on her, tearing her apart, limb from limb with screams of anger. They feasted on her flesh until she was nothing but a pile of raw meat - something indistinguishable from a pile of a butchered cow. The smell of rusty blood was overwhelming._

 

  
_I remember before she was taken, she tossed something at me - it was metal and gleamed when the moonlight hit it, the object landing softly in the grass beside me. Taking it into my hands, I realized it was a knife - it was_ her _knife, a specially designed one with a sleek grip, the blade double-edged with a serrated hook-like design at the very tip._  


 

_Though I was trembling terribly, I took it into my hands and stood slowly, surveying my surroundings as the Titans were occupied with their meal. The worst feeling shocked through my body like electricity; my comrades' bodies were all so destroyed, so entirely disfigured and dismembered._

 

_Otto's throat torn open, left arm laying meters away, separate from his body. His face was still stuck in that eternal, frozen scream._

 

_Malcom lay on his stomach, but his torso was completely separated from his lower body. The remainder of his legs were missing._

 

  
_Amalia was everywhere; quite literally,_ everywhere _. Her entire front side was spilling with all of her body's contents. There was not a spot on her body or the surrounding grass, as it was all covered in blood._  


 

_Barik... you already know what happened to Barik, and Selma, too._

 

  
_They were dead_.

 

  
_And they weren't just dead... they were_ killed.

 

_The tears were unstoppable - I could barely stifle the whimpers. I was a mere child... what child must go through such a horrifying experience? But... I couldn't let the deaths of my short-lived friends be in vain. I couldn't just let them sacrifice themselves simply to save my own life._

 

_Even though my hands were slick with the blood covering the handle of the large knife, I charged with all I could towards the five remaining Titans. This part, I can't recall as clearly._

 

_But what I do remember is going absolutely ballistic. As I roared cries of outrage, I sobbed cries of pain. My friends. My friends... they were dead! And there was nothing I could do to ever bring them back! I remember using that knife and running it through flesh, thrusting it into the soft bodies of another person, allowing their thick blood to spurt forth and completely drench me._

 

_The next thing I knew, I was standing in the clearing with the Titans' bodies littering the ground around me, their blood covering both me and the knife. Now it was not only my friends' bodies that are mangled, but the Titans', too._

 

_And the last thing I had the strength to do was to crumple to the ground. I crawled over to a nearby tree and leaned against it to support; then, I cried. I didn't know what else to do but cry for the longest time, but cry until my tears had completely dried and my throat had gotten so dry I couldn't speak._

 

_Before I knew it, the Betas had come._

 

\--

Levi was absolutely speechless. He sat in his chair, staring at Xora's blank expression with his jaw dropped, mouth agape. Never - _never_ in his life would've he expected this to be the events of the incident: Mission O-17. He'd expected something more... well, _less_ traumatizing. There was no doubt as to the reason why she'd keep such telltale events to herself.

 

"I know of the several rumors that exist of what happened on that mission," she continued to explain, "but I ask that you believe none of them. They are not true at all."

 

Levi opened his mouth to say something but shut it, unable to form any words. He was still attempting to process such a story; how could Xora keep it bottled within her for so many years, and live with such a burden?

 

And now that she'd told him, what was he even supposed to _do_?

 

"I," he began, hesitating. "Xora..."

 

"It's fine," she whispered, voice dropping lowly. "I don't expect even the slightest response. For now... I want to rest. My head feels as if it weighs a thousand tons." She opened her eyes once again to show the world her irises, briefly meeting Levi's gaze. "Levi... thank you. For listening... and, I hope you do not think of me any differently."

 

"I don't!" he exclaimed hastily, but Xora's eyelids had already drooped closed again. Seconds, then minutes passed as he waited for them to open again, but they did not. He finally heaved a sigh and leaned his head against his arms once again.

 

Did this have to do with why she always questioned his reason to kill...?


	30. Code XXX: Salvage

[Days Later]

"We really have to continue progress on our mission," Hanji sighed. She stood with her arms folded across her chest behind Levi, anxiously tapping her foot. "You can't just sit here and wallow in your despair forever, Levi. There are things to get done, and I have another assignment I need to send you out on."

The man was silent as he sat patiently in his chair, still beside Xora's clinic bed; they'd even gotten one of the IE's personal doctors to fly from North America to Europe to give her wounds better treatment. He'd declared she would take at  _bare_  minimum another month and half to heal, even with her already astounding ability to heal.

Although, he did advise that since the first dose of morphine was given, she may not be able to recall anything that happened; disorientation after being taken off the painkiller would be normal.

"Archangel would hate to know that all you did as she rested was sit around like the old man you are," the brunette woman joked, putting a hand upon his shoulder. "You often forget that you also have Eren to keep you company, you know that? Come on. You're the only person who can take this assignment."

Levi continued to stare at Xora's serene, sleeping face for a few lost moments, but he stood nonetheless.

"Alright," he finally agreed, exhaling a heavy sigh. He stood, very slowly, and followed Hanji as she trekked to the data room. There he found the two Betas working on a project together as Mikasa fiddled with the control panel of the screens. Sinking into one of the chairs by the table, he rested his head on his forearms.

"H - heichou?" came Eren's timid voice as the boy approached him, drawing Levi's attention. "Are you - are you alright?"

"Just peachy," Levi responded sarcastically without raising his head. "But, worry not. We have things to get done. The past few weeks, we've been doing nothing but slacking - me, especially."

"Well, lighten up a bit, will ya?" Hanji joked, rolling her eyes. There was a note of seriousness in her voice as she said it. "You're gonna go out tonight. There is only so little I can do from behind a computer screen; I've already prepared a disguise for you. Actually, it's not that different from your usual self."

Levi raised his head and looked at her with an expression of indifference, but his voice was light. "No fake tattoos? Or piercings? Wow, that's unlike you, shitty four-eyes."

"You should've seen - " Eren started, but he cut himself off abruptly and looked down at his feet, drawing everyone's suspicious attention. "Uh - nevermind."

"No, what is it, Eren?" Mikasa inquired, gently placing a hand on his arm.

Eren reddened and shrugged her arm away, a look of regret flashing upon his face as he spoke again. "You... should've seen the way Archangel looked at you with your disguise, Heichou." [huehuehue it wasn't just Xora c;]

The boy nervously bit his lip; Levi amusedly raised an eyebrow, murmuring a curious, "Oh? Is that so?"

" _Anyhow_!" Hanji interrupted, sliding a folded pile of crisp clothing across the table to Levi. "I want you to visit that antique shop, Levi. The one in the town you and Archangel visited awhile ago. Your job this time is to talk to Piquet, and squeeze out any information on the Mona Lisa out him. Don't allow him to suspect your true intentions; if possible, try to give him some truth serum. I really don't know how you'll even get the opportunity to do that, but... if you find one, take it."

"That's all?" Levi questioned, again raising a brow. "Usually you've got some crazy, bullshit plan that'll end up in some kind of heist."

"Well, not this time."

"Alright, then... I'll be back before nine."

\--

[Before Departure]

Standing in front of the grand mansion, Levi straightened his loose tie, throwing the jacket Hanji'd insisted heavily to him to wear upon his shoulder. Something in the pocket hit his chest with a  _thump_  as the cashmere landed against his cotton button-up, drawing his attention. Warily, he felt through the pockets until his hands wrapped around a rectangular package, plastic wrapping crackling as he pulled it out in confusion.

In his hand was an unopened package of cigarettes, his eyebrows shooting upwards. Did Hanji stick this in here? He felt around the pocket some more and found a lighter inside, nostalgia flaring through his mind. Tearing off the plastic, he opened the carton and pulled a cigarette out, sticking the rest in his pocket. He placed the cylinder between his lips, biting on one end as he fumbled with the lighter.

He hesitated; this same exact thing happened before countless times. He'd stick the roll of unhealthy chemicals between his teeth and prepare to light it - but he could never. Every time, his thumb rested against the striker wheel, poised to hit the fuel lever, but he never could. Usually he'd just get frustrated and toss the cigarette, instead using alcohol to drown his sorrows, but he couldn't do that this time.

Levi then realized he was slightly trembling; he grimaced and squeezed the small container tighter, teeth digging into the brittle surface of the stick. Raising the lighter to the butt end, he prepared to light it, taking great amounts of effort to push the wheel -

"Heichou!" a voice piped up, completely startling the man. In his surprise, he dropped both items, the lighter and the cigarette plummeting towards the ground. "Oh! I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you."

The voice belonged to Eren, the brunette jogging up to Levi. He picked up the small items for him, surprised to see the cigarrette, unlit, laying upon the cement pathway.

"I didn't know you smoked," he remarked, returning the items to Levi.

"I don't." Levi shoved both items into his pant's pockets and sighed. "Is there something you need, Eren?"

"N - not necessarily..." Eren nervously fidgeted with his fingers, chewing on his bottom lip again. "I just... wanted to see you before you left."

"I'll be back in a few hours."

"Still! Even if just for a few hours, I..." Eren suddenly grabbed Levi's left hand with both of his, eyebrows knitted as he gazed intensely into the older man's cold, metallic eyes. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier! I didn't mean to bring up anything about Archangel, the thought just came to mind. You already know how I feel about you, and - "

"It's fine," Levi interrupted, shaking his head. "Eren, you shouldn't worry yourself with me. You're too...  _innocent_  for me to take, if you will. Besides, there are some things I need to take care of and finish; I have not the time to make new love. A man and a man..."

"But - but I can help you make it happen! Make  _us_  happen! You have to chance it, Hei - Heichou. We can never know until we try."

"Attempting it is still too much of a risk. I keep telling you this, Eren."

"You tell me that, and yet you're still willing to risk it with Archangel?" The remark caught Levi off-guard, the older man looked at Eren's tearing eyes with appalled ones. "I - I mean - I didn't mean that, I - "

"No," Levi murmured quietly, with a slight hint of glumness. "I can't deny that there's at least some bit of truth in that. But I can tell you that in all truth, there is nothing going on between the two of us."

"Then, I can't take no for an answer!" Eren declared. "I want us to happen! If there're any problems that come up along the way, we can take them out, one at a time. We really can!"

Levi scoffed. "You've really got that drive of determination. But you lack in self-control. Maybe when you get older, Eren, but I ask that you don't get your hopes up. I'll likely get killed by a measly mistake before I even hit my thirties, I bet."

"Don't - don't say that!" Eren squeezed his hand tighter, hope flickering before his face.

"I - I really have to go," Levi muttered, clearing his throat. "I'll see you later today." He began to pull away to go, but Eren clamped on.

"Wait! Before you do, I..." Levi turned to look at him, the brunette's cheeks a bright red as he stared at his hands. "I w - ..."

With a sigh, Levi relented; he knew what the boy was asking for, be it he put it into words or not. Mortified he had to go upon the tips of his toes to reach the younger boy's face, Levi pulled Eren in for a short, but tender kiss. When he pulled away, he removed his jacket from his shoulder and tucked his arms into the sleeves, pulling it on.

" _Au revoir_ ," he said as he side-stepped the younger boy, heading for the sleek black car parked in front of the long yard. Eren stood, unmoving, his fingertips running over his lips as he yearned to maintain that warmth.

Buttoning his suit, he trudged over to the driver's side and prepared to leave, his hand upon the handle. Pulling it open, he put one foot inside, but stopped. He cast one last longing glance toward the Parisian mansion, his face sullen with a hint of lamentation.

"Xora," he breathed, voice lathered in melancholy. " _Ma vie, mon chéri... quand sera votre mémoire retourner_?" [My life, my darling... when will your memory return?]

After another sigh, he climbed into the car and slammed the door shut, turning on the ignition as he clicked in his seat belt. Then, without another glance backward, he shoved his foot against the gas pedal and sped off, leaving behind only a cloud of dirt.

\--

_"You're back!" he cried, running over to crush the girl in an embrace. She winced at how tightly he hugged her, but returned the gesture nonetheless._

_"I only am because Granny is," she sighed, looking at him with her doleful, large eyes. "She fell and hurt herself again."_

_"That means we get more time to play! Come on! I have something new to show you." He latched his hand into her arm and began to dash for the prim white room they always went to together, but she halted abruptly. "Come on! Why are you stopping?"_

_"Granny is hurt," she said again, her eyes filled with worry. "I'm scared."_

_"Don't worry," he reassured her, taking both of her hands as he nodded his head in affirmation. "My daddy and mommy are the best doctors in the whole world. They can cure anything! There's nothing to be scared of."_

_"But... I don't have a mommy and daddy like you... so if my Granny goes away, what will happen to me?"_

_"You'll live with me, of course," the boy scoffed, mussing with the long front bangs of her midnight locks. "And yo_ _ur_ _Granny isn't going to go away. My mommy and daddy aren't either, because I'm only eight years old. They'll go away when I'm old like your Granny, and that's in a long time. So you can live with me!"_

_"Really?" she sniffled, gazing at him with eyes lit by hope._

_"I promise," he declared confidently. "Now come on! This one's really hard. I learned it in only one week, mommy said."_

_"O - okay." The girl scurried along as the little boy led her to that room she knew so well. Although the entire hospital itself had very warm heating, the room was rather frigid. It was nearly as cold as the snowy world outside._

_And it all seemed to go so well, even if her Granny was often admitted for her weak health. She'd always listen to him when he played, and every time she'd see him, he'd have learned a new piece. They were grander by the visit._

_But as all good things do, those times ended._

_Perhaps they ended_ too _soon, for that was when the boy learned what loss was._


	31. Code XXXI: Lacking

"Well, it's been quite awhile since I came here," Levi breathed to himself as he approached the discrete antique shop, sure it was the correct one when he spotted the same filthy display panes. "Now, now... what could be so special about this lazy, unhygenic con-artist?"

Gingerly pulling open the entrance, he briskly stepped inside and was immediately battered with a musty smell. Dust swirled in the air as he fell into a coughing fit, hand waving the air around his face to dispel the small cloud. When he had finally recovered, he grit his teeth to restrain from outright screaming bloody murder at the top of his lungs; everything was just so  _damn filthy_! Squaring his shoulders, he proceeded to quietly observe as much of the tiny little shop as he could. It was not an easy task to weave through the cluttered tables and display shelves, but eventually he was approached by a man.

A very tacky one with very little sense of fashion, at that. Lank, erratic blonde hair, several ear piercings, a choker... Xora had described to him in detail what Piquet had looked like right after the Eagle's Capture mission rundown. This man was missing the glasses, and his hair was not curly at all, but his features gave enough away to confirm Levi's suspicions.

" _Bonjour_!" he greeted warmly with a slight bow of his head. " _Puis-je vous aider_?"  **[Hello there! How can I help you?]**

" _Pouvez-vous me montrer certains de vos montres_?" Levi asked him, thinking of the first thing that came to mind. The familiar French rolled easily, like silk off of his tongue.  **[Can you show me some of your timepieces?]**

" _Volontiers_!" Sylvane beckoned towards Levi and led him toward the back of the shop, where a register sat atop a glass case. " _Y at-il une période de temps donnée, vous êtes intéressé? En outre, quels modèles? Tels que les montres, horloges, etcetera?_ " **[Gladly! Is there a certain time period you're interested in? Also, what models? Such as watches, grandfather clocks, etcetera?]**

" _Non en particulier_ ," Levi responded briskly, beaming at the man. " _Je tiens à garder mes options ouvertes_."  **[Not in particular. I like to keep my options open.]**

" _Excellent choix_!" Sylvane laughed as he flipped through a binder he'd taken from the shelves behind the glass display case. " _S'il vous plaît attendez un moment que je trouve ce que vous cherchez._ " **[Excellent choice! Please wait a moment as I find what you are looking for.]**

Levi nodded in response and let his eyes wander, taking the hiding hole of this con-artist into close inspection. They fell onto a work of art, one that actually seemed quite great; though it was a bit blurred, he could tell by the color of the different brush strokes the artist had used to create the piece. In the very center lay a silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, and behind it, the dying horizon. It was actually quite a grand piece, indeed.

" _Voilà une pièce très bien fait là_ ," he commented, pointing to where it hung on the wall right behind Sylvane. " _Quelles sont ses origines_?" **[That is a very well done piece right there. What are its origins?]**

" _Oh, ça_?" Sylvane murmured when his eyes landed upon it, smiling sheepishly. " _En fait, ce fut moi qui peint que. Je dois simplement sur l'affichage pour les autres à voir; il est pas à vendre_." **[Oh, that? Actually, it was I who painted that. I just have it on display for others to see; it's not for sale.]**

" _Oh, est-ce ainsi? Eh bien, je dois dire qu'il est très bien fait, en effet. Êtes-vous un artiste_?" **[Oh, is that so? Well, I must say that it is very well done, indeed. Are you an artist?]**

" _Qui moi? Non non non, il est juste un passe-temps de la mine. Je peindre chaque fois que je dois le temps, mais il est pas une carrière._ " He waved the matter away and began to prattle off about different pieces in the shop, urging Levi to follow him as he toured through the dusty shop. Aesthetically, Levi looked to be paying the utmost attention, but his head was miles way.

'I've got him,' he thought, nodding in assurance as Sylvane continued to talk about their many timepieces and the eras in which they originated. 'This con-artist must keep his art in one place if he does it as leisure activity. The Mona Lisa may be kept with those... but that seems like a move only an idiot would make.'

" _Et maintenant, nous arrivons à les articles que je pense sont les meilleurs dans ma petite boutique_!" Sylvane announced excitedly as he and Levi circled back to the register counter. " _Notre montres de poche_!" **[And now, we come to the items I think are the best in my little shop! Our pocketwatches!]**

" _Les montres de poche_?" Levi echoed, his eyebrows rising a fraction. Amusement danced in his eyes; a small burst of nostalgia came with the word. " _Intéressant. Je ne crois pas avoir certains dans ma collection. Combien de fois ne elles vont et viennent_?" **[Pocketwatches? Interesting. I don't think I have any in my collection. How often do they come and go?]**

" _Eh bien, voyons voir_..." Sylvane trailed as he waved to the display, showcasing several freshly polished timepieces. " _Était-ce il ya un mois? Non ... il ne pouvait pas avoir été déjà longue que. Il ya près d'un mois, une belle femme est venue et a acheté une montre de poche en or rose du XVIIIe siècle_."  **[Well, let's see... Has it been a month already? No... it couldn't have been that long already. Nearly a month ago, a very beautiful woman purchased a rosegold pocketwatch from the eighteenth century.]**

Astonishment hit Levi. " _Une femme_?" **[A woman?]**

" _Oui_." Sylvane's bright eyes became distant as he began to reminisce. " _Sa peau était très pâle, les yeux très bleus et ses cheveux noirs était très belle. Elle a pris un grand intérêt pour un certain montre de poche_ **." [Yes. She had very pale skin and very, very blue eyes, with beautiful long black hair. She took great interest in a certain pocket watch.]**

" _Serait la montre de poche arrive d'avoir une sorte de... compartiment_?" Levi asked hurriedly, his mind whirring to contemplate the idea.  **[Would the pocket watch happen to have some kind of... compartment?]**

Sylvane's thin eyes narrowed, gaze hardening, but his grin stayed equally chirpy. " _Pourquoi, oui, en effet. Comment saviez-vous que_?" **[Why, yes, indeed. How did you know that?]**

Levi was frantic for a brief moment; he'd let down his cool facade and was on the very brink of giving up his disguise. He quickly recollected himself and said cooly, with a tone of regret, " _Oh, zut. Je cherchais depuis ces sortes de montres de poche, et il se trouve que ce genre de modèle est très rare._ "  **[Oh, damn. I've been searching for these kinds of pocketwatches, but it turns out this model is very rare.]**

" _Oh je vois_ ," Sylvane simpered, although it almost seemed like a sigh of relief. " _Je suis désolé. Mais nous avons de nombreux autres modèles si vous êtes toujours intéressé_!" **[Oh, I see. But we have many other models if you are interested!]**

" _Je serais heureux de jeter un oeil_ ," Levi smiled, nodding his head.

He spent the rest of his time there simply chattering away with Sylvane, unable to muster any information of the Mona Lisa. Frustration was beginning to stockpile within his mind; Xora  _must've_  been the one to have bought that pocketwatch. No doubt it must've been the reason she was taking such care of that purse of hers that day they'd come out to relax in the little town. Even as he watched her battle against the burly thugs, she took careful care to not get the purse in the way. Was it in there?

Where was it now?

Because he was sure leaving after hours in an antique shop empty-handed would've looked rather suspicious, he took to purchasing centuries-old sheet music for the cello. It never hurt to pick up a few pieces, here and there. After purchasing, he insisted upon taking down Sylvane's phone number and e-mail address, insisting he was one of the best shop owners he'd met in 'all his years of collecting'. Fortunately, due to Sylvane's naivety, it was quite easy a task. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was barely even eight o'clock; there was much, much more time left for him to take a breath and slow down, but he needed to return as soon as possible.

The ride back to the manor was dangerously fast; at this point, Levi was brimming with absolute anxiety. The moment he arrived, he bolted for the door and didn't bother to greet a single being. Dashing for Xora's room, he slipped off his jacket and tossed it onto the left staircase's banister, slamming into her door when he reached it.

"Fuck," he swore when he realized it was locked; what reason was there for it to be locked? The last time she was in her bedroom was when she'd tried to travel her dumb ass over to the exercise room when she was still half-high on painkillers. Tossing the folder of sheet music aside, he reached into the secret compartment behind the clasp on his belt and pulled out a small lockpick, hastily jamming the small twisted wire part into the lock of the doorknob. After a few swift moments of jerky movements, the lock clicked and he shoved the door open, pausing when the furniture was not as he remembered.

Well, there was that, and Eren with his back against the far wall, Mikasa pressed closely to him; his face was frantic and bright red. The moment the door swung open, their faces whipped around, their gazes and Levi's locking straight onto each other's. Eren turned an even brighter shade of red, looking on the verge of insanity, and Mikasa's expression changed from indifferent to downright livid.

"H - Heichou!" Eren desperately cried, his arms pinned to his sides. "I - I can explain - really - this is - we're - I - "

"Ah - did I - ?" Levi murmured as he took a few steps backwards, retreating to the hallway. Glancing at the first door, his lips moved as he silently counted down the hallway, realizing his mistake when he counted straight past Xora's room. It was the third one on the right, not the  _fourth_. Poking his head back into the room, he saluted impassively and called out a brief, "Sorry."

Then he shut the door and rushed over to Xora's room, slight relief filling him when it opened easily, and everything was just as he remembered. Even the smudges of blood in the carpet Armin couldn't get out were just as he'd recalled.

The stillness of the room was rather short-lived and fleeting; immediately, he went to tearing the sheets out of their place, tossing the pillows on the bed behind him.

"Where is it?!" he cried softly to himself as he totally stripped the bed to the mattress, then strode quickly over to the wardrobe. He swung open its doors and grabbed hangers and hangers of Xora's customized jumpsuits, tossing them aside as he felt around for some kind of lump in the thin fabric. After going through the entire wardrobe and even feeling around its nooks and corners with his fingertips, collecting dust, he could discover nothing of the sort. "It - it isn't here?!"

Levi charged straight to the bathroom and began rummaging quickly through the drawers, tossing aside different toiletry items left and right. When he couldn't find what he'd been searching for, he abandoned the war-stricken room and launched back into the bedroom, heading straight for the closer. Once there he again pulled out several different outfits of clothing Hanji had purchased for Xora, albeit she never once wore them.

"It's not here either," he whispered dejectedly as the clothes began to thin out, the rest of the closet completely empty. That is - until he came upon a striking dress.

It was the same exact dress Xora wore the first day, the first night they'd met. Levi's expression softened when he remembered how much more beautiful it looked on her, rather than on a hanger in her closet. Slowly, he took it out and gazed upon it with a look of longing, briefly caught in the spell of the beauty. Eventually he remembered his task and sighed, gently placing the garment on the mattress.

Returning to the closet, Levi begrudgingly lowered himself to his hands and knees, feeling around with his palms. Sadly, to his dismay, there was nothing there, either. Crestfallen, he slumped against the back wall of the small closet, gently slamming his fist into the dark wood.

It jerked his attention when his hand bounced off of something cold - metal. He leaned back and opened the closet door wider to let in more of the room's light, surprised to see something that looked like a... handle?

"How the hell do I not know about this?" Levi wondered aloud, popping it open with a slight pull. It was a small compartment, the hatch no wider than that of a sheet of printer paper. Inside, it was not very deep, and right in the middle sat a cardboard box. Why did Xora go through such measures to place this box here?

It wasn't because she was... hiding something, was she?

Sticking his hand inside, Levi pulled out the box and shut the hatch, standing. He collapsed against a heap of sheets that had accumulated from his earlier fit of temper, immediately opening it. Inside, wrapped carefully in folded fabric then gentle tissue, was something he had not seen with his own eyes for a long,  _long_  time.

The polished pocketwatch was as beautiful just as he had always remembered, lips parting as a small sigh escaped past. Levi swore his heart paused when he clicked the latch release twice, and as expected, the back cover popped straight open. His palm opened below it, expecting the small piece of paper to flit out - but it did not.

" _What_?" Levi breathed in disbelief as he looked into the small recess, shocked to find it was empty. "No... no! This can't be!" He bit his lip as he quivered with both frustration and fear, running his fingers desperately through his hair. "Xora... Xora! You know so,  _so_  much more than you show me, don't you?!"

\--

_"Happy eleventh birthday!" she greeted happily as she leapt into his arms, tightly squeezing the boy. "I got you a present! It's very special; my Granny told me it was in my family for generations and generations, so you have to take care of it."_

_"You didn't have to!" he told her with a large smile as he gladly accepted the small, sloppily-wrapped parcel. "But thank you. I'm sure I'll love it."_

_"She also said there's a special secret about it, but I haven't figured it out yet. We can figure it out together!" She beamed at the sight of him grinning. Latching onto his wrist, she pulled him along to the bench beside the frozen pond, the both of their skates laying beneath it. "Come on, let's have some fun! We've done this so much, but it never gets boring."_

_"Okay, okay," he laughed, racing her to see who could tie their laces faster. "Last one on the ice is a rotten egg!"_

_"You're the rotten egg!" She leapt up, skates laced tightly, her billowing black scarf covering from nose down. It slipped lower as she sped onto the slippery ice of the pond, the boy joining her only seconds later._

_The night was quite happy and filled with laughs and giggles; it was quite the joyous time. They battled with snowballs and made angels out of the white, fluffy drops, creating different patterns on the surface of the frozen pond with their metal blades._

_"Hey, I bet I can jump and you cant!" she taunted, leaping up from her spot in small snow hill on the right side of the ice. "I'm gonna be like the ice-skaters on TV!"_

_"I can do it too!" the boy shot back, rearing up, but the girl beat him to it. She brimmed with so,_ so _much energy, sometimes it shocked even the boy himself._

_Leaning forward, the girl gained speed until she reached the halfway point of the small pond, leaping off of one leg. She pulled the other one in and twirled gracefully in the air, a playful smirk upon her lips. Her arms lowered to balance herself as she also landed on one leg, prepared to slide backwards - but her skate caught in the ice._

_It was a thin part that the two had not spent much time on, near the middle for that very reason._

_"N - no!" he cried out as realization also dawned on her face. The cracks spread in the ice faster than a beam of light; within a split second, the surface below her caved in and she let out a piercing scream. It was swiftly cut off as the murky surface swallowed her whole, the last thing imprinted in his mind being the sight of her gloved hand reaching for hold above the water, then being dragged down as the metal of her skates pulled her to oblivion._

**[not edited]**


	32. Chapter XXXII: Torment

_Open your eyes._

"Unh...?"

_You slumber as the others toil._

"I... ah..."

_This simply proves your weakness._

"No!" Xora cried, her eyes snapping open. Her chest was heaving, hands at her sides balled into tight fists. "Wha...? Where am I?" She flexed her fingers and shook her legs, surprised to find her injuries gone. Not only that, she wasn't at the mansion anymore.

She stood upon cold, black tiles made of what seemed to be obsidian, but the walls and cieling had no edges; instead, they were replaced with a realm of what seemed like space. Stars dotted the surrounding dart canvas, revealing what little light they could as she spun in her spot, gazing around in both awe and puzzlement.

"Xora," a familiar voice said, drawing her attention. She whipped around to find the chilled tile flooring had extended far ahead of her, like the floor of a ballroom, a silhouette standing at the far end. "Xora, oh, poor Xora."

"Who's there?!" she cried out, glad to feel the fabric of her jumpsuit as she lowered herself into a stance. "Show yourself!"

"I don't have to." The dark figure began to slowly walk towards Xora, their strides long and leisurely. "Actually, I don't think I  _should_  have to, should I?"

For a reason Xora couldn't pinpoint, she was suddenly filled with fear; a cold, absolutely gripping fear that invaded her body like a disease. "S - stay away!" Not knowing why, not thinking clearly, not seeing what was in front of her, she spun around and began to run. She pumped her legs with all of her might, dashing away as quickly as she could, but in this dark chamber she was locked inside, it looked as if she were never really moving.

"Why are you running?" the dark shadow asked her, the voice light and taunting. "Are you afraid? You shouldn't be afraid, oh, not at all."

Every now and then Xora stumbled, tripping over her own legs, losing her breath, but she leapt right back up onto her feet and began sprinting again. Not once did she look back, in fear of the person appearing only inches away. Her head was spinning from lack of oxygen; she was exerting herself far too much than what she should've been. Every joint ached, every muscle was sore, her brain was absolutely fried - she wanted to collapse.

But she knew she couldn't.

Just when Xora thought she would fall, she rammed straight into an invisible wall - one she had not seen, one that she could not see. Her nose and forehead smacked right against the hard, invisible wall, throwing her backwards. She held her head, trying to straighten her world as blood began to trickle from her nose.

"Oh, darling," the voice came again, causing Xora to whip around, frozen in fear; her back was pressed firmly against the wall. "Oh, you pitiful little creature. Why do you run?"

"Stay back!" Xora screamed with as much force as she could, her body trembling harshly. "I swear it, if you do not - "

"You should not be afraid of me, for I am..." The figure was close now, though their steps were so slow, that finally Xora could see them with the light of the stars. "...you."

And it was. It was a perfect reflection of herself, wearing the same exact uniform with the same exact choppy, dark hair, the same empty, cyan eyes... no. The other Xora's eyes were not empty, not one bit - they were filled with utter malice.

"You are weak," the reflection growled, their sinister smile dropping into a glower. "You do not understand how weak you are. You say you are strong, and you are percieved as so strong, but are you really?" She stepped closer, their faces mere inches apart. "You can barely withstand it whenever Levi even dares to show you what love is. You're unable to forget and learn from your past, and instead are afraid of it. You're afraid of me... me, the you with strength, who can do anything. Who can do the  _impossible_!"

"What is it you want from me?!" Xora cried desperately, her breath catching when her reflection's hands darted to her throat.

"Just disappear!" The grip tightened greatly. "Let me do the thinking! Let me talk, let me think, let me  _do_! If only you would just give up, you wouldn't be as weak as you are now! Let  _me_  see the daylight, rather than be trapped in this twisted hell I live in now!"

"I - I c - an't - " Xora choked, desperately pulling at the ice-cold hands that clamped around her throat, but the strength was incredibly overpowering. The night world was swarming in her eyes, her strength quickly sapping away. "L - let go!"

"Just look at how weak you are," her reflection seethed, pulling away just as Xora lost her last breath of air. She gasped loudly and dropped to the ground, gagging and hacking. The reflection sharply grabbed her left forearm and jerked her upwards onto her knees, tearing a yelp from Xora. "You can barely withstand this. What makes you think you can complete this mission, capture Eagle and stop the Titans, when you can't even fight  _me_? You can't do anything! You're absolutely powerless!"

The reflection tightened her grip on Xora's arm to the point where cracking filled the still, frigid air, her screams of pain resonating throughout the empty chamber. When the reflection let go, her arm simply fell limply to her side, forearm bent at an unnatural angle. Xora's face was twisted into an anquished expression of anger, shame, and grief; a few stray tears couldn't help but escape, plopping onto the cold tile.

"I - I have no choice," she whispered, unable to lift her shameful gaze from the small pool her tears had formed. "I can't help it! I... I - "

"LIES!" the reflection roared, dealing a swift kick to Xora's side. She tumbled and stopped when her back hit yet another invisible wall, thrusting all of the air out of her lungs. "You should be telling me that you  _can_ , not that you've got no choice! Not only are you weak, you are stupid, you blithering idiot! Can't you see what I'm trying to tell you?!" Xora's throat and chest burned, her arm was emitting absolute pain, and her head was numb; only once before in her entire life did she feel so... helpless.

"No," she coughed, laying still. "What else can I do but accept it?"

" _Accept it_?" Her reflection laughed as she slowly strode over, her demeaning form towering over Xora's battered body. "Bullshit. What makes you think you've accepted everything that's happened until now? You  _know_  there is something more between yourself and Levi, and yet you deny that anything was ever there? You  _know_  that the two of you carry far back, but all you've done is bury those memories!

"You refuse morphine after recieving  _four shotgun shells_ to your goddamned body in attempt to repent for the pain the others have suffered?  _Really_? What kind of bullshit is that?" The reflection crouched down and tangled their fingers into Xora's hair, yanking her up to meet eye to eye. Xora's helpless, terrified gaze met with her reflection's determined, unrelenting ones.

"What do you want me to  _do_ , then?!" Xora sobbed, gritting her teeth. "I can't do anything to bring them back! All I've done is watch them die - I've  _let_  them die - and I can do close to nothing to repay for their deaths! How could I allow them to die when they weren't even halfway through their lives?! How can I make it up to their souls, the damned ones that were released too early?! All I've been is a bad luck charm, watching deaths everywhere I go, and there's nothing I can do! My hands are tainted, blood-stained, as is my life and everything around me! I am surrounded by death! Deaths... that I cannot forget... of my precious ones..."

"Well, it most definitely isn't to wallow around in despair and mope about it, right?!" her reflection bellowed, Xora's eyes widening at the remark. "You think just crying about it is gonna do anything?! You have to make sure their deaths count, complete the mission, help the Iridescent Empire as much as you can, you idiot! All you're doing is letting their deaths be in vain! Are you  _really_  going to do that?!"

"I - I - "

"If you even dare, all you've simply done is looked down on the lives they've lived. The reason they're gone now is to allow  _you_  to carry on their legacy! What kind of idiot are you to realize that the reason their lives were given up, is to let thousands of others live?  _Millions_? Not just lives -  _your_  life. Otto, Barik, Selma, Amalia, Malcom - they are all gone now, but  _you are still alive_. Though that price is a final one, I am damn sure that if you were to ask their souls, they would not have gone back and made a different choice. If they did have one, they would do exactly as they had a whole 'nother time!"

The reflection released Xora and she fell, but this time, she stumbled to her feet, the tears long dried. She wiped them away and looked at her reflection with a newfound resolve. Like magic, all of the pain washed away with the tide, and from the direction of the silhouette, a giant burst of windy torrent came, blasting he. Though her hair whipped wildly around her face, she stayed calm, her form now strong and unmoving.

"You're... right," Xora admitted with slight awe. "But this - this doesn't mean I am going to disappear. I won't let you take my place."

"Oh, but what choice do you have?" A bright light also began to shine from behind the silhouette, along with the raging winds, causing her form to darken. "If you aren't going to allow me to see the world, then you will continue to remain weak, as you are now. You've always been weak, and you can't change that."

"Yes, I can." Xora stalked forward, meeting her reflection halfway. "I can change that, if I try hard enough. I can learn from my mistakes... and I can become strong."

"And just about  _how_  do you think you're going to accomplish such a feat?"

A smile curled upon Xora's lips. This one was not hostile nor was it taunting, but rather... happy, as she said, "We can work together, of course." She extended an arm, her awaiting palm held out patiently. At first, her reflection went through several emotions instantaneously; first disbelief, then rage, then wonder, then it ended with curiosity.

"...Maybe you're not as stupid as I think," her reflection simpered as she reached out her own hand and placed it into Xora's. She entwined their fingers and brought themselves closer, the light that had originated behind the reflection getting larger.

It and the wind both increased in intensity until it filled the entire night world as Xora merged into one with her reflection, the light swallowing her whole.


	33. Chapter XXXIII: Promise Kept

" _Six goddamn weeks_ ," Levi sighed as he stepped through the front doors of the Parisian manor. "Six goddamn weeks of torturous meetings and all that bullshit... damn you, Erwin." Right after he had completely ravaged Xora's room, he'd calmly ordered Armin to take care of the mess (whom looked as if he were to speak out, but backed down last minute and followed Levi's order). As soon as the day after, Erwin had ordered him immediately to come to North America for several meetings with high authorities that required his presence.

Levi had argued that since he was coming along, Hanji should've too, but Erwin had insisted that he was of priority, and that someone needed to look over the mission - especially with such an important agent still in recovery. His worry got to him rather well; he'd quite often call in with Hanji and check in on the status report of the mission, but she assured him every time that progress was being made. Though the past weeks were absolute agony, he was relieved to finally be back. Striding down the long corridor, he was headed toward the data room, bulky briefcase full of files in hand - but he stopped.

He stopped directly in front of their clinic, hesitation lining his conscience. His eyes stayed upon the ajar doors of the data room, but his body would not listen to him, instead dragging him towards the clinic. Gently turning the handle of the door, he slowly creaked the door open, absolutely brimming with anticipation. He'd hoped that while he was gone, Xora's state of health and mind both would've improved greatly. It was something farfetched, but he could do nothing but dearly pray for it.

What he had most definitely  _not_  expected, was an empty bed, the sheets nicely done, folded upon the bed. Everything looked as if it had been... untouched, for a long, long while.

Bolting out of the clinic, he dashed for the data room, slamming it open. He tossed his briefcase inside, screaming, " _Where the hell is she?!_ " The question just about scared the living shit out of Hanji and Armin.

"C - calm down, young grasshopper!" Hanji cried, readjusting her glasses frantically. "There's no need to be screaming at such an hour!"

"It's two in the goddamn afternoon! Where is she?! I've had enough bullshit from Erwin, I don't need any more from you, shitty four-eyes!"

"But I'm not even giving you any!" Hanji sighed exasperatedly and shook her head, glancing at the leather-bound watch on her left wrist. "I actually just sent her out to pick up some groceries from a local farmer's market for tonight's dinner, you little shit. And don't worry; she's been up for the past week and a half, and she's been doing absolutely fine! Calm! Breathe, shortie, breathe! You'll shit yourself if your blood pressure rises too much!"

"You'll start shitting  _yourself_  when I'm through with you, treating her that way! Why?! Didn't you say it'd take a few months before she'd heal? Are you sure it's even the  _correct_ choice to let her be on her feet like this?!"

The brunette genius sighed and shook her head in disappointment, glancing over at Armin. "Oi, Armin. Any thoughts on this?"

"Ah, m - me?!" the boy stuttered, flushing. "Well, I trust Hanji's judgement, and I - " He flinched, Levi having had shot him a deadly glare, " - and um, XX seems to be doing fine. In fact, according to my calculations, she should be arriving right about..." He, too, glanced at his own watch, "...now."

Again, Levi practically flew as he darted out of the data room, sprinting down the main corrider and inhuman speeds. At the lobby, the door opened, just as predicted, the warm afternoon sunlight pouring in.

"I've retuuurned," a familiar voice called as a strikingly beautiful woman stepped through the door, her hands busy carrying several bags of fresh produce. Gaze trained on the floor, she kicked off her shoes and gently set down the bags to lock the door. She turned around to retrieve the bags, but was instead met with a bone-crushing embrace that smacked her back against the door.

"Xora!" a small, breathy voice called to her, captivating her attention. "Xora, Xora, Xora... oh, Xora!" Levi pulled back, his hands tightly cupping her cheeks, and met with Xora's astonished face. It looked so much better than the last time he'd seen it; slight color had returned to her face and cheeks, and it'd become less gaunt. In a nutshell, it looked as if life was once again instilled within her beauty.

"Ah, Levi," she murmured quietly, eyebrows rising. "Welcome back."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, out of bed like this?! So little time has passed, and here you are, up and running?!"

"I feel fine. Well, admittedly, I still have to take medication, but the pain isn't necessarily there anymore."

"I feel uncomfortable with you being sent on tasks like this with your four wounds! Hanji is absolutely insane, thinking that it's okay for you to - "

"Levi." Xora hushed his parted lips with a finger, pressing it against his cool skin. "Your reaction is near an exact copy of Hanji's when I first happened to be able to move around without too much pain. She and the others don't agree with my decision at all, but I've asked them to bear with it. I ask that you do also."

"But you - "

"And I can't say that tackling me with an embrace can really back up your argument, can it?" Xora gave him a slight smile, amused. The entirety of Levi's face flushed a bright red and he unhanded her, picking up the bags of groceries.

"Shouldn't we be getting back?" he suggested fervently, already stalking back through the corridor, desperately trying to change the topic.

"You seem to have grown a lot more childish during my... hiatus," Xora joked, joining his side.

"I'm simply too irritated and tired to put any energy into keeping me calm."

"That's a very nice excuse you have there, although I must mention that it is not even close to convincing." Levi stayed silent, cursing mentally for having had made such a fool of himself in front of Xora. He regretted looking like such a child, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "Say, Levi...?"

"Y - yes?" Levi answered, clearing his throat; it happened to break at such a convenient time, didn't it?

"Can I ask you to do something for me? That is, only if you're comfortable with it, of course."

"I'd do anything I can to help you."

"Please come to my room tonight. I have... things I want to discuss with you."

"With  _me_?" Levi nearly cried loudly in disbelief. It took all of his mental willpower to not flush again, but he could feel the heat rush to his cheeks. What in the world was this girl thinking? He seemed to never be able to read her mind.

"It's perfectly fine if you don't want to. It's just that I - I've come to terms with some things that I've been trying to unravel for a long, long time. And I feel that it's you who I must speak to if it's about these things."

"O - of course I want to! I mean, I can. I will most definitely, if it's something you want to talk to me about." Levi bit his lip, taking a deep breath. "After dinner, I must go over some details I may have missed during my absence with Hanji, but... you can assure my presence."

"Ah... thank you." Xora looked at him and gave him another small smile of gratitude; he nearly flinched at the sight. Since when did Xora smile twice within ten minutes? Since when did Xora even  _smile_? All he could do was nod his head briskly as the two finally stalked into the data room, presenting a starving Hanji with the fresh produce.

What was this strange feeling that boiled in Levi's gut, festering and spreading to every cell of his body?

Was this... fear?

Did he fear what she was going to say to him? Was it going to be something bad, some kind of - of goodbye?

No... he was just overthinking it. It couldn't be; Xora was even more of a devoted and commited agent than he was.

Well, if that wasn't it, then... what was it?

\--

_It was dark._

_She waited patiently by the riverside, staring up into the starry night sky as the gentle breeze continued to blow, washing a strange sense of clarity over her. The scar_ _f_ _she donned toiled in the wind, gently billowing behind her as the fresh, fluffy snow floated from the sky. Her long locks, too, danced in the air like ribbons, trailing as if she were flying._

_He was practically silent as he approached; she didn't notice until many moments later, glancing sideways at him. At first she shot him a kind smile, but it faltered when she spotted the look upon his face._

_It was crestfallen; his silver eyes were empty and lacked the shocking spark they always held, the sparkle she'd come to adore so much. All color had drained from his already pale enough complexion, lips pressed into a thin line. The dark shadows beneath his eyes showed he must've lacked sleep; the red that rimmed them gave a forbidden hint._

_"She's gone," was the first thing he said, stepping forward only to collapse into her arms. Together they fell to their knees upon the frigid snowy ground, his head against her shoulder. She cradled it and held him closer, pressing them closer, burying her face in his dark hair. His sobs weren't loud, but not unreal, either. They were quiet and muffled; she could feel through the thin fabric of her_ _jacket_ _the wetness that poured like a stream from his eyes. His_ _gloved_ _hands tightly grasped onto her sides, grip trembling._

_"Don't be sad," she coaxed, gently stroking his hair._

_"Am I supposed to be happy about this?!" he suddenly exploded, pulling away abruptly to show her a tear-stricken face of furious anguish. "My mother is dead! She's_ dead!  _Do you know what this means?! It means I'll never be able to see her ever again!"_

_"Well, you're definitely not supposed to be angry," she sighed, again pulling him into a tight embrace. She refused to let go. "Tell me, what happened?"_

_"...The accident. The truck killed her as she was crossing the street because of brake failure. My... my father told me she died instantly, nearly all of the bones in her bodies sh - shattered."_

_"Oh, my. That must not have been a pretty sight." Her arms wrapped even more tightly around him. "It's alright. It'll be alright, I promise you."_

_"No! No, make me a different promise!"_

_"What kind of promise?"_

_"A promise... that you'll never break. Make me a promise that you will always keep, no matter what, and you'll keep it until the moment you die."_

_"Alright then," she simpered, gently withdrawing to look him deeply within the eyes, her azure gaze piercing straight through his. "I promise you that I will never,_ ever  _leave your side for as long as I live. We will always be together."_

_"You... you really promise? Do you really promise me that?"_

_"Of course I do. I love you."_

_"Th - then write it down!" He pulled out a ripped piece of paper and an ink pen from his pocket, thrusting the items into her hands. "Write it down, so we can never forget it! And I'll keep it in a safe, special place."_

_"If that's what will make you happy," she agreed with a shrug, scrawling down the date of '0 2 . 2 0' to mark the twentieth of the cold February month. She then marked her initials of 'X . X', but he took the small scrap from her hands, hastily rewriting the letter A over the second X._

_"But... why?" she questioned him curiously, drawing her gaze up to see his cheeks now tinted pink._

_"Well, if we're gonna be together forever, that means you're gonna marry me, right?" he stated, sniffing. He then folded it in half twice and pulled something out of his pocket: a watch. A pocketwatch. The very one she had given to him for his birthday. Clicking the latch release twice, the backing popped open, and within it he placed the small piece of folded paper. He then snapped it shut and stuffed it back into his pocket, along with the pen._

_"We're gonna get married, huh?" the girl contemplated, nodding her head in wonder. "Okay, then. I'll marry you, Levi, and I'll keep my promise forever and ever."_

_"...I love you, Xora," he sheepishly admitted, pulling her into his arms once again. "And we'll be together forever." She exhaled a small laugh, placing her hand upon his head as he began to silently cry again, holding him tight._

_"We're only children, and yet we are so sad. What a strange world."_


	34. Code XXXIV: Fallen

Finally, night had arrived. Levi finished up with the few errands he had to run over with Hanji a lot later than he had anticipated; it was nearly midnight. But he wasn't the least bit surprised to find Xora still wide awake in her room, quietly slipping in without taking too much notice.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked softly, joining her side by the window sill. She seemed to enjoy gazing at the moon and night sky, admiring the stars. He simply started at her shell-shocking beauty, the moonlight illuminating her serene face. Though her expression was indifferent, her eyes toiled with hundreds of mixed and mudded mysteries.

"Firstly, I... want to formally return this to you," Xora said quietly, gently laying the rose-gold pocketwatch upon the sill. She slid it over to his side, not once tearing her eyes away from the night. "I know now that it is yours."

"And the note? Is it in there?"

"Check for yourself."

Levi glanced down at the timepiece tentatively, pressing his lips into a thin line. He clicked the latch release twice and as expected, the back popped open. The small scrap of folded paper was indeed there, fluttering out to land on his palm. "...This means you remember, don't you? You remember it all?"

"Not everything," Xora murmured, her voice far away. "There are just a few significant parts that have come back to me. A whole majority of my memory is still missing, but I think I - I remember the most important ones."

"Tell me about them. I want to know everything you remember. Explain it all to me. I don't care how long it takes; we can take the entire night reminiscing if needed. I just want to hear it all from you, Xora. It's been nearly a decade since we last saw each other; seeing you after so long brings back so many... emotions."

"Are you sure you want to listen to me prattle about things that were, and are not?"

"Of course."

"Then..." Xora trailed off, finally turning away from the open window. She backed towards her bed and sat on the edge, the mattress leaning in where her weight pushed against it. Levi trailed over to the other side and did the same, but fell to his back, letting out a long sigh. Xora, too, flopped down, right beside him; their heads were perfectly aligned.

"I'll start from the beginning."

\---

_The Ackerman Hospital of Care. That was your parents' hospital, and that was why you were there when my grandmother first was admitted. She'd fallen, and was taken to urgent care immediately. I can't exactly remember how I was able to find my way there, but... I'd brought flowers to take to her. I was told by the ignorant receptionist that I couldn't see her, but perhaps that was for the better, because right afterwards I met you._

_There was nothing else I could do with those flowers but give them to you; right afterwards, you'd shown me your cello. I think from then on our friendship simply blossomed. My grandmother's health simply deteriorated, and my visits to your hospital became more frequent with the passing years. Every time I returned, you'd always learned a new piece, each one even greater than the last. But I remember your favorite was Pachelbel's Canon, and it was mine, too. I'd hung on that memory for so, so long..._

_Somewhere along the way we must have realized our fates were so much more intertwined tha_ _n_ _it showed. It's as if it were practically written in the stars. I remember for your birthday - which, I don't recall - I'd given you that pocketwatch as a gift. That day, we'd gone ice-skating, that cold December Christmas day. The damned pond... I fell in, didn't I? I can't remember much from it, only the cold, dreadful feeling, and the panic that rose in my chest at the fact that my coat and skates were weighing my little body down._

_I think since I was young, I've had this instinct to simply survive. It has to be either that, or I'm just so much more stubborn than I thought. The next memory I have is myself in the hospital again, but not because of my grandmother's health - it was mine. Your father, my doctor, told me you never left my side - only to use the bathroom. I'd caught a terrible case of pneumonia and was in bed for weeks. Not long after... was your mother's accident._

_It was shocking to hear what kind of pain you had to endure, a mere child having to go through their mother's death. What kind of punishment was that, and what did that child do to deserve it? It was that night that I gave you the vow... the vow that you've remembered until now. The promise that I would never leave your side, and be by you forever. I promised I would love you forever, Levi, and that I would also marry you._

_And - how long was it? I don't remember - but I know it was still snowing when it happened. I was a curious child. So curious it made me stupid; I was such a fool back then, and for that I hold so many regrets. The house my grandmother and I lived in was fairly decent; it was left to us when my parents died a couple of years after I was born. Now it is no more; I played with matches, and that was my mistake. I can remember the feeling of it nearly scorching my finger after I held it too long_ _when_ _I struck it._

_Then my home was absolutely engulfed, eaten in flames. I could do nothing but stand, frozen, as I heard my grandmother's cries of panic and pain and concern for me and help - but they were soon, too, swallowed by the fire. Everything, my visual world, was falling to pieces all around me; the sight was so mesmerizing. I remember being so spellbound by the beautiful flames, dancing so wildly even when the snow still fell. I guess snow doesn't put out fires._

_I owe my life to you, Levi._

_You came._

_I don't know how or why or when, but somewhere within the maelstrom, you showed, practically trying to drag me out of there. But I would not move. I could not. Within the battle of trying to help me escape, I remember you dropping the pocketwatch. But you couldn't retrieve it; you were at the end of your own rope. It's so clear in my head, the look of regret upon your face as you looked at me then ran out of the burning house to gulp in fresh air. It would be pointless to let two children die instead of one, correct?_

_And after that... it's all a blank._

_\---_

"You... don't remember what's after that?" Levi questioned in a small voice. It seemed so fragile and frail, like he was to break at any given moment.

"I wish I did," Xora sighed, exhaling a deep breath.

"Someone nearby managed to get a hold on the fire department. They discovered you unconscious inside and you were rushed to urgent care. You nearly suffocated from the smoke, nearly died from asphyxiation... my heart was torn to pieces. In the hospital it was confirmed that you had no living relatives remaining, with no one to take custody of you.

"To make it even worse, you suffered aftereffects because of the lack of oxygen that'd gotten to your brain; it was amnesia. Your memory was wiped clean, along with my last light of hope. That was when Erwin stepped in and decided to take you into the Iridescent Empire, something I'd been involved with since awhile before you.

"At first I tried as hard as I could to stop him from insisting upon taking you in, but... what other choice did I have? What other choice did  _you_  have? I contemplated even adopting you into my own family, but... with a hospital to run and a wife's death to deal with, my father had enough on his hands. It's one of the hardest thing I've ever done, you know... say goodbye to you, not knowing when we would meet again. Or even  _if_  we would meet again."

"It looks like fate was kind enough to let us reunite with one another," Xora simpered, closing her eyes. "But what I want to say in the end, is that I am... I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Why is that?" Levi turned is head to look at her profile, his eyebrows deeply furrowed. "You have nothing to apologize for, Xora."

"...I won't be able to keep your promise."

Levi's heart plummeted in his chest, his blood instantly running cold. Of all times, now, after all these years, he'd waited and anticipated just for this? He sat up abruptly and twisted to look at her, face aghast with betrayal and regret.

"But - why?!" he cried softly, running a hand through his hair. "You don't understand how important you are to me, Xora, or how important this promise is!"

"I - I'm not the same person I was then," Xora whispered as she, too, rose. "Even though now I'm able to look back and reminisce about these times, it doesn't change who I am. I'm not the young, innocent Xora who loved you, Levi. Through all these years of solitude, I've changed into something so much more different... and nothing can change that."

"No! This - this can't be!" Levi weakly traveled across the bed and snatched Xora's wrists, pulling her close to him. "Xora, if this promise can't be kept, then I won't have any other reason to continue seeing tomorrow. That can't be the reason you deny me what I've hoped for since the day I met you! Even if you've changed, I  _know_  you aren't like this. You  _have_  to have a better reason!"

"There isn't!" She tried to break from his hold, but he held tight, his desperate, sharp gaze tearing straight into hers this time. "What other reason do I have to have, Levi?! I can't - I can't do this anymore!"

"Do what?!"

"Fall in love with you!" Levi was stunned at her words, her cheeks blossoming red in the moon's light. She didn't meet his eyes, stiffening as she shrunk back from him. "You don't understand how danger it is to fall in love with a man who is untouchable."

"Why is it dangerous? Xora, I have always loved you!" He gently turned her face to look at him, eyes softening when they looked at her frantic expression. "If I am able to love you for this long, you can at least chance it!"

"But we're agents for the Iridescent Empire!" she exclaimed desperately, a look of pleading coming upon her features. "Don't you understand?! You should know more that I, that tomorrow, or the day after, or one week later, a month, a year, a decade later - one of us could  _die_. Be  _killed_!" Levi's eyebrows rose. "And if I were to die, that would leave you with even more loss than you already have to deal with. If you die, I won't be able to live with myself, knowing that I could have prevented it or protected you. It's terrifying to know that if we were to dabble in love, it could end just as quickly as it had started!"

"I don't care," Levi said firmly, shaking his head. "With you, I'm willing to chance it. With you, I'm willing to risk absolutely anything, if it means I can be by your side as freely as I can."

"But I  _do_! And I won't allow you to go through that pain, ever again!"

"Pain is nothing, if you're there beside me!"

"But I won't always be beside you!"

"I don't care!"

"I  _do_!"

"Just love me, Xora. Love me with a fire, with a burning passion, as I adore you!"

"I - I - "

She faltered, and gave up on words. Her hand darted out and grabbed his collar; their lips crashed together, instantly melting into a kiss that blazed with uncontrollable desire. Xora's head was spinning as she wove her fingers into his hair and pressed him even closer, his hands gripping onto her waist and lower back. The sweet taste of his lips was a gift from heaven, her tongue rushing to memorize the taste and imprint it into her mind.

All of her thoughts dissipated into nothingness as they kissed with such force and pent up, bottled love. She could do nothing but succumb to the soft, yet electrifying touch of his lips upon her own. It incinerated her very being, shattering her soul and heart into a pile of shards and fragments. The cold spark within her that had been simmering for so long had finally exploded into a star with light so blinding, it was a supernova in her being.

"Please," Levi panted once they parted, still tightly clinging onto each other as if they were to fall off the edge of the world. "Stay with me, Xora. Love me."

"I..." She collapsed against him, burying her face into the crook of his neck. "How can you expect me to stay away from a man whom I've yearned for, who I've journeyed with through the loss and the laughter?"

"Shh. Even if it's for one night, let me hold you."

"Then to be held, I shall, and to love... I will."

♥

**34 GOD DAMN CHAPTERS LATER JESUS, LEVI, XORA, DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH THIS MUCH**


	35. Code XXXV: Redemption

The next morning was much, much more hectic than Xora had originally anticipated it to be. But first, when she woke, she found herself laying against Levi, his heavy arm wrapping around her waist. She nearly jerked away, the memories of the previous night flooding her head. A breath of a mixture of relief and exasperation left her lips, a heat coming to her cheeks. Eyes flickering over to the sleeping face of her lover, she could see it now rid of the serious gaze he always held, and the strange way his eyebrows were always furrowed. Lovingly, she brushed a few stray strands of his hair away from his eyes, revealing such a serene face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, though it was barely one. She meant it; it took a lot to think back upon the past and realize how much she had made him suffer. What was it like, to lose a mother, then a best friend? Then to meet that companion again in the future, only to realize that the past was nothing but a fragment of memories anymore? Memories that solely existed in one mind? "You are the bravest person I have ever met." Closing her eyes, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his forehead, leaving a soft kiss.

Then, as gently as she could, she slid out from under his arm and rolled off of the bed, taking one of her bodysuits to change into in the bathroom. When she emerged, she immediately left the room silently and journeyed down to the data room, guessing the time to be around eight in the morning. Hanji and Armin were already there, discussing the plans for the day, Eren and Mikasa nowhere to be seen.

"Where are Mikasa and Eren?" Xora asked as she approached the two.

"Hm?" Armin turned, smiling when he realized who it was that'd asked that question. "Oh, XX, it's you. The other two... they're probably still sleeping."

"Could you do me a favor?" Hanji asked, glancing at her watch. "Do you think you could go and wake the two up? Mikasa's room is right next to yours, and Eren's is a few doors down in the other direction. We've got a lot to get done today! There's a big assignment I've got waiting for ya!"

"And Levi?"

This caught Hanji's attention, pulling a sly grin onto the brunette woman's face. "Ahh. You see, I think his rest is well-earned. Wouldn't wanna disturb him now, would we? Just take care of the others first, then we can worry about him later. He's a big boy."

"Roger that."

Xora left the data room and headed up the stairs again, counting the doors to Mikasa's room. First she gently knocked on the wood, calling, "It is time to wake." When there was no response after a minute, she tried again, louder this time. "Mikasa, we are needed in the data room. It is time to wake." And again, no one answered the door, leaving Xora only in silence. She twisted the handle and shoved the door open, poking her head inside to come upon a sight she didn't really expect to see.

It wasn't only Mikasa in the bed, but Eren, too. The two were still out cold; Eren lay on his back, his limbs sprawled everywhere, mouth open in an obnoxious snore. Drool trailed from a corner of his mouth. Mikasa laid tamely beside him, one of her hands gripping onto his. Xora was at a dilemma; how should she wake the two, when they were in this state? At least it saved her the trouble of having to locate his room.

"You two," she called out sharply. "Wake up!" And that did it. Eren jolted awake with a cry, accidentally flinching and failing his limbs. His fist collided with her stomach, causing her to gently ease into consciousness. A groan of pain came past Eren's lips and he rolled onto his side, clutching onto his injured hand protectively.

"What time is it?" Mikasa murmured as she sat up, groggily rubbing an eye.

"It's nearly eight AM. Hurry and wake; Hanji would like to debrief today's assignment with all of us. It seems to be a larger project."

"I'll be down there in a few."

Xora nodded and shut the door, shrugging after contemplating the thought of the two sleeping together. "Last night must've been a night of many breakthroughs." She turned and began to head for the stairs, but a muted voice caught her attention.

"Xora?" Levi murmured quietly. She turned and found him leaving her room, only half-way dressed, his collared shirt unbuttoned to reveal his milky skin beneath. "Oh, it's you. Good morning, love." He shuffled over, still stuck in the hands of drowsiness, and wrapped Xora tenderly in his arms.

"Ah, Levi," she stuttered, trying to break away. "Someone might see. We're needed downstairs immediately."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He let go, remembering how...  _new_  these things must be to her.

"Don't worry about it." She flashed him a weak smile and gently touched his arm, beckoning as she began to head back. They continued forward together, arriving right after Eren and Mikasa. The boy caught Xora's gaze and immediately reddened, looking away as he covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

"Finally, finally!" Hanji cooed, nodding affirmatively when she gazed upon all of the present agents. "I'd really like to show you all something, after I explain to you our plan in three days' time."

Excitement bided within Xora's gut; it'd been a long,  _long_ while since she'd had any action, and she now lusted for it. Though her wounds still throbbed on the occasion and ached when she exerted herself, she could manage. It was truly a miracle, for even she hadn't expected it.

"Our goal will be, after these three days of preparing, is..." Hanji paused for atmosphere, the agents just  _slightly_ on their toes. "To capture Piquet, and to bring him in safe and sound for questioning. It's Levi and I who will do the questioning, of course. The rest of you need not worry until we bring you what we've acquired."

"Capture?" Mikasa repeated. "Who will go, and how can we? I expect his welfare to be placed under maximum security, especially if he's working with such distinctive people."

"All of you will be going! Even Armin, although he won't be getting much action. He'll be at your home base, keeping watch as well as looking out for all of you. It's determined Piquet will be at some sort of storage unit an hour or so outside of Paris. I discovered that he made periodic visits, which means it must be a location of importance - especially if these visits initiated within the time of the competition."

"Shouldn't we also use this opportunity to investigate that unit?" Xora inquired. "If we wait until after he unlocks the unit, we can then apprehend him as well as infiltrate."

"Right on, Archangel! I was planning exactly that! Although it will be carried out a tad differently." Hanji turned to Levi. "Levi, you're going to be an extremely important asset on this mission, so I expect you to avoid getting your ass hurt, alright?"

"Just get on with the plan," the corporal sighed in reply, rolling his eyes. Hanji smirked and spun around to face the panels of the central computer, fiddling around with a few buttons to make them all merge into one large screen. A blueprint sprung to life on the screen, showing the layout of a fairly small building. It was only four stories high, with around a dozen rooms on every floor. A yellow highlight flickered on over the outline of the room at the very corner of the fourth floor, the perspective zooming in to show the works of the small room.

"This is Piquet's storage unit," she explained, pointing to the screen. The view slowly panned around to give a three-sixty picture of the room. "As you can see, it's one of the fairly smaller units, so I suspect that he's not keeping anything too big in there. I'm a bit suspicious of the fact that the Mona Lisa could possibly be kept in such a place with low security, rather than inside a specially reinforced safe somewhere underground or at an isolated island."

The camera view zoomed out and back in again into the first floor, a yellow highlight appearing around a room at the opposite corner of the building. It was fairly large, and inside seemed to almost be more of a living space than a storage unit. "This is the security office. I've looked into the landlord's visiting schedules, and he doesn't come as often as I would've expected, so we've got nothing to worry about there. Now, to get to the plan: the building will be accessed by Armin, who will decode the security system from the outside and breach it. It can only be accessed by someone who already has a keycard or some kind of means of access. It will be the job of the five of you to sneak in without being noticed. We'll get some extra briefing on stealth later. One of our main goals on this mission is to make it seem as if we were never there; it makes things easier in the future." Hanji pointed to a hallway that led from the front entrance of the building, heading straight before taking a sharp left straight into the office.

"Here is where Mikasa, Armin and Eren will be stationed; it's also where the five of you will split up. Firstly, you're all to wait as Mikasa apprehends and takes out the guard. Then the two of you will slip inside and Armin can get to work on deepening his access into the system. Eren and Mikasa are to keep watch. Armin will be wearing a guard uniform in the case of someone unpredictably showing up and ruining our plans. From there he'll unlock Piquet's door as well as disable all of the cameras, which will allow Archangel and Levi to make their way up to Piquet's storage unit without a problem. We'll be expecting him to be leaving his room within a certain timeframe anyways, so I don't expect you to have to break down the door. 

"It'll be Levi's job to take out Piquet when he exits the room. I want you to do it quickly and cleanly, alright shortie? You know there's absolutely no point in beating around the bush. As Levi keeps watch and engages Piquet, Archangel, you are to get inside and immediately begin inspection. Our priority should be the painting, which I wouldn't be surprised if it weren't in there. Although I do expect you to do a thorough search, Codename XX, and find and collect as much intel as you can.

"After the search is finished, which I expect should take no longer than thirty-five minutes, Archangel and Levi both leave the room as it was and make their way back downstairs with Piquet as quickly as possible. From there, the system should be restored exactly the way as it was before and your leave should be perfectly seamless."

"And just how do you expect us to prepare for something like this?" Mikasa questioned, one of her eyebrows raised slightly. "You explained this very simply, but when you really analyze the plan, it gets extremely complex. Any innocent civilian could easily walk in during the middle of our mission, or Piquet's actions could deviate from his usual ones during the time we choose to take him down. And, not that I doubt Armin's skills or anything of the sort, but the system could be too corrupt or complex or blockaded to hack."

"I was really waiting for someone to ask that question!" Hanji cried excitedly, jumping from foot to foot. "Come, come! I've got something extravagant to show you! So extravagant, your eyeballs will either explode or roll away!" She led them hastily out of the data room and they headed straight for the library, Hanji talking excitedly all the way.

"Oh my, we've been working on this for months. It's the reason Armin stayed behind in North America, to make some last-minute confirmations and revisions et cetra et cetra. He didn't want to tell Archangel because he wanted to keep the auspiciousness of a surprise. I mean, honestly, I really wanted him to come with her, but it was understandable with what you are to see."

Once inside the grand room of tomes, Hanji wove in and out through the bookshelves, before coming to a stop in the northwestern corner of the room. She was decisive in selecting a book, but once she did (it was a dark maroon binded book with silver embellishment on the spine), she slid it open about halfway out of the shelf. The book suddenly retracted into its spot by itself and the shelf popped backwards into the wall before smoothly sliding down, revealing a small circular compartment. Levi, Xora, Eren and Mikasa all stood in shock, staring at the strange cylindrical section in confusion.

"I know, I probably should've made it closer to the data room just for efficiency purposes, you know?" Hanji scoffed, beckoning the others as she stepped forward and into the compartment. "But I told Armin that I wanted it to be cool, like how you see in the movies, so I moved this elevator behind a bookshelf instead. I'm lucky there was room for constructing it."

"Elevator?" Xora repeated in awe as she filed inside with the others. Once they had all settled in, the shelf whirred back into its position and the elevator lurched when they began to descend. The clear tube in which they passed through showed an eagle-eye perspective of an extremely large chamber beneath. Luckily the elevator was made of a see-through material, but it was extremely sturdy. When they finally reached their destination, they stepped out to find what seemed like a metal gym as large as a football field.

It was filled with equipment to exercise as well as equipment to practice sparring with, and even more strange contraptions Xora had never laid eyes upon before.

"Welcome to our very own training stadium, complete with a simulation chamber!" Hanji roared with joy. She threw up her arms as she announced the story of how she and Armin had conspired together to build their own in France; the only other training stadiums in the entire world were located in Central China, Australia, the United States of America, and South Africa. "Using the simulation chamber, we will be able to practice the execution of the plan many, many times with many different variables every single trial!"

Xora was in shock; the one back in America was amazing and quite efficient, but it was nowhere near the this grandeur. In her chest her heart lurched with the strange feeling of... anticipation. It'd been a long, long time since she'd felt as excited as a child heading to the amusement park; this stadium to her was like giving a child an enormous box full of new toys. She could feel the urge of trying out the new machines itching the tips of her fingers, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her soul from bounding out of her body. Turning her head, she realized it was Levi who had done so.

"Please don't push yourself," he whispered, though his voice sounded strained. The expression on his face was absolutely written with concern, and the look in his eyes was almost... pleading. She knew in the back of her mind that he was worried out of his wits about her well-being, especially after surviving such injuries - quite a massive feat. "Please."

"I promise you I will not," Xora assured him with a nod, placing her hand on top of his. She gave him a small smile and pulled away, starting straight for the first machine she could see.

The next mission  _had_  to be carried out flawlessly, and she had to train for it, for what else was there for her to do to redeem herself after being incapable of even standing for so long?

And, she needed this strength for the future of not only completing the Iridescent Empire's mission, but her own - her mission of protecting Levi.

**[not edited]**


	36. Code XXXVI: Arms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so much fuckin fanservice for my readers god dammit

"Wonderfully done!" Hanji cheered as Xora exited the simulation chamber. "You executed the mission perfectly, Archangel! Well done!"

"Thank you," the blue-eyed woman panted. She wiped the sweat off of her top lip with the back of her hand and breathed deeply, rubbing the sore spot on her right thigh. The sore spot - the wound - a reminder of that mission, a reminder of the failure she committed that day. Jaw tightening, she gently ran her fingertips over the other wounds to check on their states. The one in her side ached the most; now would most likely be a good time to check up on the bandages.

And that was what she did. Jogging over to the first-aid office, she could see all of the others hard at work, improving whatever skills they could. After the previous endeavor, this mission allowed no room for mistakes. Eren assisted Armin - that frail, wonderful boy - with the weights, Mikasa benching her own couple of hundreds nearby.

Oh yes, the two... the past couple of months had brought those two closer and farther apart from everyone else. Xora expected it was something of a romantic relationship, but every time she tried to approach Eren about the matter, he would frantically deny it.

Levi, however, was nowhere to be seen.

At least, until she reached the first-aid office. The lights were dim, and she could easily make out his shirtless form, unwrapping his hands from the boxing wraps. His back was turned to her, drenched in sweat, showing the towel laid across his neck and shoulders as well as those tattoos on his back.

The wings.

Soles chafing against the cement flooring of the room, she shuffled inside, the sound causing Levi to turn. The sight of her made him raise an eyebrow, eyes narrowing a small fraction.

"Oh, you're finished with your simulation already?" he asked, furling his wraps neatly.

"Yes," Xora answered plainly, digging through the medical equipment.

"And how'd it go?"

"Quoting Hanji, I 'executed the mission perfectly'." She hummed with satisfaction when she found the gauze bandages she needed.

"Really? That's great. I assume I'm up next?"

"Hanji is probably looking for you right now. It would be best for you to go, yes." Unzipping her suit, she slipped out of the top part and let it drape around her hips. As she had thought, the white of her previous bandages were stained red; it was probably that was because of the strain on her body. Maybe it wasn't a smart idea to do that tuck-and-roll and backflip when she was trying to dodge the flying stapler (a long story, don't ask).

Levi immediately stiffened once he spotted the wound. "You're pushing yourself too much."

"Hush, there's nothing to worry about," Xora reassured him as she began to unwrap the bloodied bandages. "As I said, I am managing myself perfectly. Now... it would be great if you could help me clean the wound. Yes, that would be quite pleasant." But that was a lie; Levi didn't say a word as he retrieved cotton wipes and soaked them in alcohol, crouching to dab the smeared blood on her skin. It stung terribly when he cleaned the areas right around her festering wounds; though it wasn't nearly as bad as when she first received it, she was still in the process of healing. At one point it was absolute agony and she winced, hunching forward slightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Levi whispered in a hurry as he stood hastily, letting her fall against his broad chest. "This is why I keep telling you to tone it down." Xora's breathing was heavy, sweat dotting her forehead, but she shook her head and urged him to finish cleaning her skin. Once he complied and completed the task, he helped rewrap the injury until it was firmly covered with fresh bandages.

"Thank you," she sighed as she zipped up her suit again. "You should go and take your evaluation, now. Don't... allow me to get in the way of your training. It wouldn't be best if you were to make a single mistake on the mission, would it? And we're running out of time. There's only two more days until we launch the assignment, and if something is to happen to even one of us, there won't be anyone to call in for back-up - "

"Xora." Levi cupped both of her cheeks in his hands and forced her to look at him, to look at that immobilizing gaze. "You need to calm down and breathe, alright? The stress of this mission can't be good when you've already got a wounded body and intense physical training to follow-up. Relax. It's going to be okay, and the mission will run smoothly. I promise you that, alright?"

Xora placed her hands on top of his and closed her eyes, following his instructions as she took a deep breath. She only realized now how quickly her heart was racing, and that swirling, whirling feeling in her gut. The air stilled and the stiffness finally uncoiled within her body, letting her muscles become more lax.

"That's more like it," Levi breathed, his lips against her forehead. "Just keep doing that, and I'm sure you'll feel a hundred times better than before. Relax. Think of me, and relax. Otherwise, you'll end up giving yourself a heart attack."

"Thank you... Levi." They stood like that for a few moments longer then Levi dropped his hands, his face reluctant as he turned and left the office. She stood as still as a statue for a couple of endless moments, but then lifted her head, eyes colder than ever before. The words he had given her gave her strength, and made the muted determination suddenly flourish through her veins. Those words held true, and she wouldn't dare to allow one mistake to slip past. The mission  _had_  to flow seamlessly, otherwise... she didn't want to think about the infinite consequences.

"Petra," she whispered to no one in particular, closing her eyes. "Oluo, Gunther, Eld... I'm going to capture Piquet. Then I'll find Eagle and avenge you all... I swear it. I vow that I will avenge the four of you, even if it means I'll get every single one of my limbs torn off." Opening her eyes, she bound out of the office and headed straight for more training equipment; there really was no point in standing and moping around, was there?

\---

[Two Days Later]

"Are you rrrreadyyy?!" Hanji roared as she thundered through the manor, dancing and strutting as she made her way to rendezvous with all of the others in the data room. "Today's the day, guys! Today's the special, important day! Are you all excited?! Because I know I am! Oh boy, am I  _reared up_!" She bounced with every step toward the central control panel, humming as she tapped on the many different buttons and pulled up another layout of the storage building.

"I don't know how you have so much energy, even after all of the prep we do," Levi yawned. "It's probably because you're practically a sitting duck as we all train. Kind of like how you take the longest shits when it's time for all of us to take care of our cleaning chores, and somehow emerge after it's all finished."

"Oh come on, cutie corporal. No need to get your panties into a twist; this time I'll  _actually_  get down to work, okay? Besides, you put a combination lock on the vodka cabinet anyway - although it's not like it will be any trouble to picklock it - so don't worry about anymore accidents, alright?"

"Tch... you should really learn to shut up when it's necessary." Levi adjusted his skinsuit, grumbling lightly as he fixed the way his gloves were tucked underneath the sleeves. "It's been a long time since I've worn one of these... now I remember why I stopped. XX, I don't know how you stay in one nearly all the time." Everyone - excluding Armin and Hanji - donned the IE skinsuit, although Xora was the only one who had hers modified to accommodate her skill set.

"There's a reason I compare it to literally being a second skin," she explained with a shrug, pulling on the material on her hip. "It's actually rather comfortable, if you ask me." Her eyes flickered up to glance at Levi still twisting around in his suit. The flexible material easily clung to his skin, showing every crevice and edge of his body, the sight defining his toned muscles and built frame. He caught her stare and showed the most minuscule smirk, running a hand through his hair. Her cheeks immediately flared a bright red and she tore her gaze away, rubbing her face with a hand.

Was she really staring  _that_  intently? Turning her gaze to Eren, she could see his stare was also transfixed onto Levi, his face a soft shade of pink. Really, she couldn't blame him. Could anyone?

"It should be a crime to look like that," Xora whispered beneath her breath, to no one but herself. "You could really stop someone's heart and kill them."

Hanji called everyone's attention and began another debrief, going over more details of the mission with another presentation on the computer panels. Xora focus all of her attention on the brunette woman, but a whisper right beside her ear made her jump nearly six inches off of the ground. A set of hands gripped onto her waist and pulled her back against a sturdy surface - something she recognized as a certain corporal's broad body.

"Why don't you bring me to jail then, Mrs. Ackerman?" Levi breathed, Xora's cerulean eyes widening slowly. "I'd happily be handcuffed if it were by you."

"S - stop this," Xora whispered with as much force as she could, hastily removing Levi's hands from her waist. "We could miss something crucial!"

"Come on, can't we have at least a few moments of relaxation before the mission start?" He nuzzled his nose into her hair, right behind her left ear.

"We can relax after the mission ends."

"Do you promise me?"

Xora grit her teeth and averted her eyes to the floor, clenching her fists. "I can't promise you something I don't know for sure. After all, something could happen on this mission that we weren't prepared for, despite the fact that we've done so much training for it."

"Then I'll promise you we can." This caught her by surprise, quickly settling into a soft smile upon her lips. "You'll owe me for holding out for so long. I expect it to be something wonderful."

"And that concludes our debriefing!" Hanji cheered with a few claps, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, you five get out there and bring me back a live con-artist!" She hastily ushered the others out, shutting the data room's doors right behind them. There was an unsteady silence that hung in the air as they made their way to the library, traveling to the training stadium without exchanging any kind of conversation.

Armin led the five, making their way over to a section of the stadium that was connected to the surface. The part was designed for transportation of either supplies or accessibility, but Hanji used it for a lot of provisions and survival supplies. All seemed well, until Eren happened to pull Xora aside - the action not taking anyone else's notice.

"Eren?" Xora murmured when she saw the slightly crestfallen, mortified expression he wore. "Is there something wrong?"

"I - I just want to explain a few things before our perceptions get all twisted," he sighed, unable to look up from the ground. His right hand still clutched tightly to her shoulder, the grip rather vice. "I know that this morning, you saw Mikasa and I together, but there's really nothing going on. No, I mean, there kind of is, but - you see, she and I have known each other for a long time, and over that time we've become close. From the point where I joined the IE until my last mission, I'd been gradually pushing her away.

"But during my last mission, I had a brush with death and nearly died from several injuries. Ever since, Mikasa doesn't dare to leave my side; she was absolutely livid when she discovered that I'd be going to Europe on a mission that should wouldn't be allowed to attend. Honestly, I had expected her to somehow find her way into the project of her own accord, and it looks like I was right. But what I didn't expect was for her to be so up front and - well - blatant about her feelings.

"In the past couple of years, I've gotten the opportunities to work with Captain Levi quite a few times, and I - " Eren shrunk and turned even redder. "I - I fell in love with him. Obviously in the past and even now I harbor feelings for Mikasa, but Levi just - he's captivated me. Even if now my actions with Mikasa are intimate, I can't shake what I feel for him. She, on the other hand, refuses to acknowledge that and takes me for only hers, and he doesn't return my feelings. Although he doesn't return them, I know that I could work if he just gave it a chance! But in the end, I - "

"You're troubled, and at a dilemma," Xora interrupted in a deadpan. Eren's eyes enlarged and his grip on her shoulder tightened even more. "You're trapped between your feelings for the both of them, and either can't satisfy you in the way you want."

Eren's hand dropped from her shoulder and he closed his eyes, rubbing his face. "Yes. That's the gist of it all."

"Well, Eren..." Xora scanned through those courses she'd taken on human interaction in the past, but could find nothing that would help in this situation. They didn't teach about times in which comrades would confide in her about something so trivial and... complex. What she would have to say to him next would have to be her own words, not something out of a text book.

"I'm a mess," Eren mumbled, his shoulders drooping even lower.

"I think you should do whatever your heart tells you to do. In the end, it's  _you_  who makes the final decision right? If you think long and hard about what will truly make you happy, it'll come to you eventually. I'm not exactly the best person to inquire with when it comes to love and affairs, but I do know that it's important to cherish those that already put you in front of themselves. With a job like you have, it's also important to choose quickly; we don't have the leisure others do. And consider what's important to  _you_ , Eren."

"What ever in the world do you mean by that?" The boy looked as lost and helpless as ever, even with the tough front he always wore.

"What I mean is, just think; in whose arms do you wish to be held the most?"


	37. Code XXXVII: The Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [graphic warning: later on in the chapter, there are depictions of rather gruesome and bloody/gory sights. you've been warned. enjoy xx]

"Infiltration successful," Xora breathed into the comm device, watching silently as Mikasa slid the unconscious guard to lean against a cabinet in the security office. Watching her take him out was faster than the blink of an eye; simply getting into the building without any kind of identification was rather easy. "The guard is out. I believe there are currently no civilians in the building, aside from Piquet. Levi and I will head to our positions."

"Roger," Hanji's digital voice crackled through the little speaker. "Armin, you know what to do!"

"Copy that," Armin said as he began to breach the system. He gave both Levi and Xora a nod to signal he had control of all cameras and the entire building's security. Swiftly, the two took off and made their ways to the fourth floor, immediately locating the unit in which Piquet's belongings were supposed to have been stored - hopefully, the Mona Lisa was in there, too.

Levi stationed himself right beside the door frame, and Xora, crouched behind him. It was now that they had to play a waiting game, checking the timers on the multi-purpose watches on their wrists. It was Hanji that informed them Piquet always only spent exactly seventeen minutes and forty-one seconds inside before leaving. Whether that was intentional or not, they would hopefully be finding out soon.

Seventeen minutes and forty-one seconds passed in what seemed like hours to Xora; even though she had done a stimulation of this exact situation so many times, there were so many uncontrolled variables that could always change the outcome of the situation. Though she was trained to make quick decisions in very little time, the reasons for those decisions could always change into something worse.

Perhaps the stimulation chamber wasn't cruel enough to toughen not only her mind and body, but her heart.

"Five seconds," Levi whispered, the counter on the timer lessening by the tenth of a second. "Four... three... two..."

All went still for a split moment, then the knob of the door turned. As expected, the happy-go-lucky blonde stepped out of the room, one hand in a pocket, the other running through his tousled hair. When Levi moved, it all seemed to happen in slow motion.

He darted out from his spot, barely giving Piquet any time to react as he jabbed his hand right into the crook of his neck. A grimace came upon his face when Piquet only staggered back, a hand on the spot where Levi had prodded him; the strike missed, and he was still fully conscious. Instead Levi had to resort to plan B. His fist came down hard into Piquet's gut, where he was wearing a studded ring - a modified one where the studs would be as sharp as needles, filled with a tranquilizing liquid. The liquid acted quickly; within mere seconds, his eyelids began to droop and he fell limp into Levi's arms.

"Go, go!" Levi urged, his eyes flashing when they met Xora's. She nodded and immediately darted inside, freezing when she spotted the contents. In her left eye she sported a contact lens that contained a camera-like technology, sending whatever she saw straight to Hanji's computer immediately.

"Hanji," she gasped, her eyes wide. "Are - are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Y - yeah, most definitely," Hanji responded, her face aghast. She removed her glasses and slid them up to rest atop of her head as she leaned in to get a clearer look of the room. "Is this really... it?"

It was a plain room -  _extremely_  plain. All of the four walls were a plain white, the ceiling was white, and the floor was straight white tile. There was only a single light bulb in the middle of the room to illuminate what was below it: a wooden podium, and on top of it, a USB jump drive plugged into the wood.

"Scan the room for me please," Xora murmured, her eyes inspecting every inch of the room. "I need to know if there are traps."

"Done and done. There's nothing that shows up from my scan, but I would be wary when I extract the USB if I were you. Be on your guard, Archangel."

"Roger that." After taking one last look at the room, she slowly stepped forward, then took another step, then another. When she finally stood in front of the podium, she briskly wrapped her fingers around the plain black USB jump drive, and gave it a sharp tug. The small storage device came out smoothly, but as soon as it did so, the farthest wall flickered on like a television screen.

At first it came on black, but then a symbol appeared on the screen: the  _Fleur de Lis_. Then it flashed away and numbers appeared. Initially, '00:45:00' appeared, but it immediately began to count down.  There was barely any time for Xora to react as she realized it was a bomb... and there was less than a minute to get out of the building. She bolted for the hallway and was met with an alarmed Levi, but she quickly motioned for him to get moving.

"There's a bomb!" she screamed, dashing to the exit and throwing open the door to reveal eight sets of stairs until the first floor. "We've been set up! Everyone, get out,  _get out!_ " Levi hustled with Piquet on his back, scrambling to get to the elevator, but when he pressed the button to go down, an error sign flashed on the small screen above the doors. He swore and chased after Xora.

Xora was frantic as she sprinted out of the exit, Levi arriving outside shortly later. The trio of teens were already boarding their van, determined to create as much distance in between the building and themselves as possible before the bomb detonated. The two joined them, Levi unloading Piquet into the back before huffing, "Where's the guard?"

"Ohhhhhh,  _fuck_ ," Eren groaned, tugging at his hair. "W - we panicked! We didn't really think about grabbing him before we - "

"It's fine. Start driving,  _now_. I'll get us to a safe spot, but for now you all need to leave before you get caught in the blast."

"Levi,  _no_!" Xora screamed as he hurtled back into the building, disappearing from view. "Levi, come back!  _Come back_!"

"I'm sorry, XX!" Armin screamed as Mikasa shut the doors of the back, himself stepping so hard on the gas pedal the van jerked forward and immediately zoomed off. Xora shoved open the sunroof and stood, her face in frustrated anguish as she eyed the building. Not even a second later was when she not only heard, but saw the fiery explosion with her own two eyes, knowing that if they had not started heading off when they did, they too would also have been caught in the destruction.

She had not seen Levi leave the building with the guard... and even if he had, he couldn't have made it far enough to avoid the explosion.

The next explosion was her and her own scream.

" _LEVIII!_ "

\---

[Thirty-Nine Hours Later]

He was alive. He  _had_  to be.

For the past two days, Xora became a mute mess - when she  _did_  speak, she simply said, "He said he would find a safe spot. I'm sure he is alive, I'm  _sure_." During their meals, she would rarely pick at her plate, and there wasn't a single moment besides her room and the dining room she didn't spend in the exercise room. Every three hours she checked the news, seeing there was an updated article every single day as to the details of the explosion, but none of them ever mentioned anything about survivors.

As for Eren, he was a bawling mess. The only shoulder he had to cry on was Mikasa's, and though there was a speck of envy in her deep ebony eyes, she comforted Eren through the brunt of the pain. Through the nights where he would scream and sob and bawl, she would hold him in her arms and refuse to let him go until the tears ceased - and usually they didn't until he had cried himself to the point where he was so tired, he had fallen asleep. She, of all, was the least fazed.

Armin and Hanji seemed rather crestfallen for the couple of days, but were too hard at work decoding and decrypting what was on the USB drive. The moment they connected it with their main panel, they found it to be double-encrypted. Even with such geniuses like themselves, they knew it would take long hours with no sleep to breach the coding.

Since Hanji was so busy the the decryption, Mikasa was the person mainly in charge of interrogating Piquet. She had no problem using some of Hanji's 'Torture Toys' to extract whatever information from him she wanted to. Whenever she did so, her expression was nearly always indifferent, sometimes even a small smile seeping through during one of the sessions in which he would shriek so much out of pain that he'd go hoarse. Her reasoning was always, "Because he made Eren cry. So I'll make him cry a ten times more and ten times worse."

It was after those drastic two day that finally, they got through the walls. Immediately, the other three were called into inspect what was on the storage device. Though their faces were all stony and stoic, it was no lie that an air of anticipation hung around their heads.

"It's... a link," Armin explained in an exhausted voice, the dark bags under his eyes looking more like bruises. "There's a single link behind all of this coding."

"Stupid coding," Hanji grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Two days with no sleep is nothing, but all this work for no sleep? I'm sorry, Armin, that I had to put you through this. It's just that some asshole is a shitty programmer and decided to torture us a little."

The link led to a site with an anonymous domain and owner, showing nothing but a dark blank screen. All five of them were rather confused until suddenly the screen changed to show a woman. Xora's eyes grew wide the moment she laid her eyes upon this woman; with her white hair, she had an air of familiarity before her. It was as if she had seen this lady before, but she swore with her entire heart that even in those memories that were still lost, she had never seen this woman's face before."

"Ah, it's finally connected!" the woman said with a grin, clapping her hands. "It took you two days to get through the encryption? Commendable, considering it took us nearly ten months to perfect that encryption." Hanji switched on their own camera, knowing the woman could see all five of the IE agents.

"Who are you?" Xora demanded, slamming her hand down against the metal of the control panel.

"You really don't recognize me?" The woman's emerald green eyes glinted maliciously. "I can't believe it. You're the one who killed my younger sister on your mission O-17, right? Xora Xion? I would never forget the face of the child who brutally tore apart my younger sister to the point where her insides littered the ground around her mangled body. Who could?"

The other four swerved to look at Xora, every single one stunned beyond measure. Even Xora wore the same expression as the horrid memories flashed through her mind, remembering now why the woman looked so familiar. She looked so,  _so_  freakishly similar to that woman, that white-haired Titan that had lead the group of people who devoured her teammates. Her  _friends_. The friends that gave up their lives to protect her.

Selma.

Otto.

Malcom.

Barik.

Amalia.

" _Where is Levi_?!" she roared, her lividness barely containable.

"Relax, relax," the woman chuckled, flipping her ivory hair over her shoulder. "Isn't it rude that I didn't introduce myself? I am known as Isolde Freya, the head chairman of the Interrogation and Torture Unit for the Titans organization. My long-time deceased sister's name was Cordelia. She was a beautiful, amazing person, and I loved her with all of my heart. It was a dream of hers to follow my footsteps of life and become a Titan - but of course she had to follow our main recruitment protocol to prove her worth and loyalty."

"I don't give  _two fucks_  about her.  _Where. Is. Levi_?" The tone of her voice absolutely dripped with hatred and poison, her four teammates frozen with dumbstruck fear. Never had they heard or seen this kind of anger that radiated from simply Xora's presence.

"You're really no fun," Freya complained, but she kept that picture-perfect smile, turning the camera. "He's right here, in front of me. Isn't he just a beautiful human being? With that perfect, flawless skin, it was so soft, and it just looked so... _delectable_. I couldn't resist having a taste. Lo and behold, your precious  _Levi_."

It was Levi. It was Levi with his arms and legs strapped to a chair, his jumpsuit torn to the waist of his torso and to his thighs of his legs. He was covered in bruises and deep gashes that gushed blood, even small chunks of flesh missing on his forearms and legs. His torso was absolutely littered with marks of tools that they must've used to torture him. A deep cut on his lip left a trail of blood to his chin, his right eye was surrounded in an ugly bruise, and his left eyebrow must've been cuffed badly for the deep incision that showed. Though it was faint and rather heavy, he was breathing.

"LEVI!" Xora screamed, tears of relief pooling in her eyes. "Levi... oh, Levi!"

"X - Xora," he panted, practically gasping to regain air. "Don't l - listen... to this bitch... stay... away!" He was cut off as a man walked into the frame and smashed him in the stomach with his fist, drawing an agonized, "Agh!" with a series of bloody coughing.

" _DON'T FUCKING TOUCH HIM!"_ Xora's fist slammed against the metal again. "Lay  _one more_  finger on him, and I swear to you, I will - "

"What will you do?" the woman taunted as she slid the camera around again, allowing them to see her face. "Will you try to kill me? Because the last time I checked your mission history, you haven't taken any more assassination or missions that have to do with killing. Let me guess, child: the act of having to kill horrified you so much on that mission, that you swore to never do it again? Did you desire to not have others go as did those teammates on your mission? Did you think it was a sad thing to do, to have to take away one's life and leave their loved ones as  _your_  life has been left? Did you think that you didn't want any other people to be left like you, broken, alone, and forced to be put into an American government organization because you had nowhere else to go, no one else to love you?"

"Shut it, you wretched bastard," Xora said in a quiet, trembling voice. "Don't say another word."

"Why don't you make me pay? Come and find me. This is a challenge to you, Xora Xion. It is a test of both your ability and your loyalty to not only your organization, but your lover."

"You bet everything precious to you,  _I will find you_. I swear it, if it's the last thing I do, I'll find you. And Levi... I'll save you, Levi."

"Let's all hope you'll do it in time!" Isolde cheered, giggling. "Let's all hope that by the time you've arrived, your darling Levi will still be alive. Or in one piece, even! I mean, just look at how delectable he is. Maybe I should just feed him to all of my underlings." She smiled, and Levi's screaming echoed from the background. Her grin only grew larger until it dissolved into uncontrollable, maniacal laughter as his cries continued unrelentlessly.

"Stop it!" Xora demanded desperately. "Whatever it is you're doing... stop, just  _stop_!" 

"No matter what it is you use, or how you do it, you won't find us. Be it satellite or exploration by foot, I can guarantee you will not be able to locate Levi here. Don't worry, like I said, I'll put his body to good use! In our next gourmet course~!"

"No! NO! IF YOU TOUCH HIM, I'LL - !" Levi's screaming and the woman's laughing still blared from the speakers as the screen flickered dark, with only a thin line of text in the middle reading: "The connection has been severed."

All was deathly quiet.

Xora slowly turned around, allowing the four to look at her tarnished self.

Her eyes were hollow, but had gained a new glint that wasn't there before - it was that of a person who had finally snapped. She was unstable and unpredictable. They contained a new kind of shine, one of extreme hatred, like the one that was in Eren's own jade eyes.

It was because of her eyes that the four new, despite whatever the white-haired titan said, Xora was  _going_  to find her.

She was going to find her, and save Levi.

**[not edited]**


	38. Code XXXVIII: By My Hands

For a long time after the viewing of the contact with the Titans, Xora was never seen. The time fragment was a blur of numbed feelings and tense silences, the absence of Xora's presence hanging over the four like a wet blanket. Indeed, they heavily stressed the importance of somehow finding a way to save Levi, but their options were extremely limited. Plus, who knew if they would even... make it in  _time_.

 

But the main talk of the four wasn't always Levi - it was also what was exchanged between that woman, Isolde Freya, and the Sanctioned Archangel herself. What did Levi call her? 'Xora'? And what that woman had said about the happenings of Mission O-17 - just  _what_  exactly happened to Xora's teammates? Was Xora behind all of the killings, or... did she have to kill whoever killed her teammates?

Was this some kind of twisted torture Isolde had designed specifically for Xora? Why did it have to be  _Levi_? Eagle had mentioned something about needing Eren beforehand; why didn't they take him instead? And even during the video link, it was as if the four of them weren't in the room - or even existed. It was some kind of tension that lay only between the two of them.

Xora killed Isolde's younger sister? Why? And  _how_? Wasn't she just a mere child?

All of these things were discussed in the expanse of the data room; on the sixth day, two new members - a woman from Russia, a man from Peru - arrived, at the request of Hanji. She realized then that they needed more manpower, and only from very skilled agents. It was Erwin who personally added them to the mission; he heavily stressed that each of the member's lives would have to be top priority at the moment, putting the mission on a temporary hiatus.

Esfir Sokolov, twenty-four, was a tall woman whose face was very sharp and angled, giving her an extremely focused and natural glare. Her auburn hair was always pulled up into a sleek ponytail, cocoa eyes seeming to have endless depths. She stood tall, taller than even Eren at a height of one-hundred-eighty centimeters, giving her an air of authority. Her form was very lanky and scrawny, but it was evident that she could easily crush sheets of metal with her bare hands; she was very open to showing the team, too.

Vinicio Reyes, twenty-seven, had a very built and muscled form, but he stood to nose-to-nose at Armin's height, one-hundred sixty-three centimeters. His darker beige skin was just slightly darker than his deep brown hair, but his eyes strangely stood out at a deep marine blue shade. The corners of his full lips were always upturned in a coy smile, making it hard to read whatever was on his mind.

Armin, Eren and Mikasa were able to easily bond with the two; they were honorable people from very different backgrounds, but they were truly kind-hearted. Although at first Esfir seemed rather cold, she became very talkative and curious when she warmed up to the three. Vinicio, on the other hand, was very spontaneous and optimistic at the start, but he actually seemed to have a very dark sense of humor and liked anything about all things grotesque.

It was not until the seventh day that Xora appeared.

Hanji and the others were discussing their means of rescuing Levi in the data room when the doors suddenly swung open, drawing the attention of all six to Xora. From where she stood, silent for a few moments, the original four could see that a lot of change had happened within the past seven days.

Xora's eyes had become even more electrifying than they had ever been, that gaze like knives coated in the thickest and most deadly poison on earth. Her face had become more gaunt, but her body definitely had not. In fact, it seemed as if she had packed on even more muscle. Her hair had grown much longer at this point, reaching her chest, the untrimmed bangs hanging over her face limply.

"My name is Xora Xion," she stated in a monotonous voice; all humanity seemed to have disappeared. "Codename XX. Selma, Amalia, Otto, Barik, Malcom. Those are - were the names of my teammates. We were attacked by a band of original Titans that were carrying a Rite of Passage for the Titan organization, where each of my teammates were slaughtered and eaten alive in the process of protecting me. I went into a state of madness and killed all of the Titans that killed my friends. I was horrified at the results of the catastrophe and vowed that night that I'd never kill a person, lest their loved ones would become like me, and empty shell void of love or ever knowing the true worth of it."

She stood, eyes glued upon the ground, as all of the other stood with gaping expressions.

"Is... is this normal here?" Vinicio whispered, pointing a finger towards Xora. Hanji's closed her mouth and opened it several times to speak, but she couldn't answer him properly.

"Please don't tell anyone else but Commander Erwin this information. I ask that in exactly one hour, you all meet here in the data room and watch the screens. I want all for the each of you to do is watch. If you dare to interfere, I won't hesitate to get rid of you; you'd only get in my way." She turned and went through the doors.

"W - wait!" Eren cried, causing Xora to pause in between the door way. "Arch - Xora, just what are you planning on doing? If you're going to just get yourself killed, I can't allow you to - "

"You'll see." She disappeared without another word.

\---

[One Hour Later]

The land was deserted and surrounded in such thick forest, Xora had to break through tons of greenery simply to reach her destination. And she did, tearing apart the grass the reveal a metal door. Heaving it open, she leapt down the hatch and was faced with one very long, very white tunnel, doors to different rooms and facilities donning the sides.

Back at HQ, the six were frozen in their spots, each with their eyes glued on the computer screens as they all automatically merged into one screen.

"A - are you doing this?" Armin asked Hanji, puzzled.

"No," Hanji whispered, both curious and terrified. "Just  _what_  exactly is that woman up to?"

The screen flashed on to show the view from several security cameras. It was Xora at her spot at the bottom of a ladder that led upwards. Was this...?

"The home base of the Interrogation and Torture Unit for the Titans organization!" Xora screamed at the top of her lungs, the sound blaring from the speakers back at HQ. "I've come for Levi! Resistance is futile!" She advanced and a leisurely walk, as if she were at a park or a lake. The clamoring of shouting and artillery began to resonate down the tunnel.

The entire structure of the tunnel suddenly began to twist and turn, as if it were rearranging itself - and it seemed like that was the case. New hallways formed and doors disappeared, to be replaced with either a wall or two different doors. It was like a never-ending, puzzling house of horrors.

Soldiers in white and black armor appeared from the new doors, each holding exact copies of M16s. Before long her path forward was blocked by row after row of soldiers. Her expression venomous and dauntless, the shuffled over to the farthest right wall and pressed her hand against it, a red scanner from inside lighting as it read the prints of her hand. Beneath her hand a large panel slid open, and from inside Xora withdrew a M249 with an extended clip, readying the light machine gun in her hands. She also took out KSG shotgun and slipped it into a clip on her back.

"Let's play," she growled, stepping forward with the M249 at ready, the soldiers turning their guard.

"Fire!" a voice screamed, and the soldiers immediately began shooting - but not a single bullet met her.

"Was that a command for your soldiers, or for me?" The soldiers stared at their guns rifles in confusion, checking the ammo slot and triggers. "No time!" Activating the trigger of her machine gun, the soldiers began to fall like dominos. Her bullets were more than enough to pierce the armor the soldiers wore; she mowed them down and continued forward easily, despite the hundreds more troops that arrived.

Although she was always being targeted, each soldier with their aim concentrated solely on her, not a single bullet flew past her head. The red color of blood stained the walls, floors and herself as many Titans instead pitched forward to fight in hand-to-hand combat rather than rely on the rifles, but her bullets always got to them before their fists reached her.

Not after long she did run out of ammo and tossed aside the machine gun, withdrawing double Glock 12s with extended clips from the capsules on her hips. Cocking the guns, she used them to easily take down any remaining soldiers that dared to come across her. The population of the troops was just about entirely depleted when she came across the room she intended to come to, the Glocks were fresh out of ammo.

Throwing them aside, she slammed the door of the room and stepped inside, her gaze deathly.

Those at HQ still watched intensely.

It was a fairly small room, barely 12x12, the walls, the ceiling, everything - all painted white. In the very center sat Levi cuffed to a chair, barely conscious, his sanity hanging on by a very thread. He was absolutely covered in wounds that had multiplied by ten since the last time Xora saw him.

Isolde Freya stood behind him, leaning forward to hold Levi's cheek against hers, her hand gently holding his cheek, the other laid flat on his chest. On both of her sides stood two soldiers, but these two looked different; their armor was black. It indicated that they must've been a pair of more elite soldiers, trained and raised to protect specifically her.

"You made it to your little party!" Isolde cheered, her smile growing. "Oh, how happy I am to see the little girl that killed my dear younger sister!"

"Say goodbye," Xora deadpanned as she pulled out her last two pistols, a pair of Desert Eagles, from their pouches on her outer thighs. Clicking reverberated through the room as she cocked her pistols, and the two black-armored soldiers readied their rifles. She raised them both to point at Isolde, but she suddenly whipped a small six-barrel pistol from her pocket, shoving the tip against Levi's temples.

Xora immediately went rigid.

"You've got a few choices you can make right here, right now," Isolde chirped, giggling. It was such a strange sight to see this older woman make such childish remarks and expressions. In fact, it sent intense shivers down Xora's spine. "You can kill me, but the two guys next to me - my best friends - will kill both you and your little Levi. You can kill the guards, but I will shoot Levi before you do. This last option is the best, in my opinion: you can kill Levi and allow him to die by your hands rather than ours. We're dirty, filthy, disgusting Titans, right? Why don't you allow him to die by the hands of a regular human?"

"K - kill... me," Levi rasped, his eyes cracking open to momentarily meet with Xora's troubled gaze. Her aims were still trained on Isolde, but obvious discomfort flickered over her eyes. "Do i - it... now... only you c - can... kill... me..."

Xora grit her teeth, her face twisting into a pained expression.

"You're running out of time~!" Isolde sang, laughing again. "I'll give you three more seconds to make your decision. Or else we'll just shoot the both of you at once, and none of us have to get hurt! Ready?"

Xora grimaced.

"Three... two... o - "

"I'm sorry, Levi." Xora lowered her pistols to face Levi and pulled both triggers.

**[not edited]**

 


	39. Code XXXIX: Double-sided Blade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because he still reads this, and i've kept him waiting more than long enough.

Isolde immediately burst out into hysterical laughter and turned her gunpoint to Xora, firing until her pistol was rid of ammo. The guards on her sides also released their fury and emptied the ammo clips of their rifles - but after the storm of flashes and bangs they were shocked to find the Archangel was still standing, unwounded. Her aim was now turned to the guards, and without a second thought she emptied out the ammo of one of her Glocks on both of the guards, leaving Isolde stunned.

"Wh... what is this?!" she snarled.

"Surprised?" Xora asked, tilting her head as she flung a pistol at the woman, clipping her in the head. "Look again."

The woman staggered backwards and held her head, looking at Levi again; when Xora shot those bullets, she had absolutely no intention of killing Levi - or dying. What she had shot were the thick metal cuffs that bound his wrists to the chair. They were blasted apart, leaving only his milky, untouched wrists showing.

"You!" the woman snarled, her hands clenching into fists. "How?! How are you still alive?!"

"I can't die before I exact revenge." With her remaining pistol, Xora put the final bullet into Isolde's knee, bringing the woman screaming to the ground, falling flat on her back. Throwing it aside, she made emphasis on drawing the shotgun still clipped to her back, readying it into her hands. "Did you really think I would jump into this without any kind of thinking?"

"Tell me! Tell me how you're alive, you wretched bitch!"

Xora stomped her foot onto the woman's chest and left it there, holding her to the ground. "In the past seven days, I haven't been sitting and moping around, doing nothing. Locating Levi was easier than done; a minuscule tracker is implanted in his suit. Although you looked at what talents I lacked, Freya, you made the mistake of not looking at what I excelled in: espionage. Stealth. Infiltration. The shadows.

"Immediately after finding the facility I took great care in infiltrating. In all honesty, it gave me no trouble at all, slipping in undetected. I hacked into your system and disabled all security measures, as well as downloaded all of your intel archives. What you and every other soldier didn't realize was that I replaced your entire store of weaponry with blanks. Despite what I look, I'm still only human; there would've been no possible for me to have survived that first wave of gunmen, right? Not a single person realized that their guns lacked actual bullets. If they did, they didn't do it quickly enough.

"You know of my inability to kill. But you Titans aren't human; you're scum. It's not even worth it to kill you all, but if the Iridescent Empire doesn't rid the world of you, then no one else will. It's as simple as that. And the moment you took Levi..." Xora grit her teeth, her deathly gaze widening as her grip on the shotgun tightened. "The moment you made the error of taking him, you signed the death sentence for not only yourself, but every other living Titan on the face of this planet."

"You bitch," Isolde growled, one hand reaching over to grab Xora's ankle. "How could you - !"

"It's my turn to ask the questions," Xora spat, gnashing her teeth. "Why Levi?"

"If you take one of ours, then it only makes sense to take one of yours." The Titan grinned maliciously. "And let me tell you, even though I only had a taste, boy, he's one of the most delicious things I've ever tasted. Should've enjoyed the rest of the meal instead of only having a bite, huh?"

"Shut up." She pressed her foot into the woman's chest, a brief expression or pain contorting the woman's face. "Why him, and not me? I was the one who killed your sister. Why not take me instead?"

"Then that would be no fun. I prefer to torture mentally rather than physically. It brings so, so much more pain."

Xora's clutch on the shotgun was so tight now, the joints of her fingers were a pale white. "And lastly: who is Eagle?"

The woman laughed. "Did you really think I'd tell you something like that?"

Leaning forward, the Archangel pressed the tip of her shotgun against Isolde's throat, directly beneath her chin. "You don't have much of a choice, I can tell you that now."

"I can make myself a choice." In a single fluid motion, Isolde reached into her left pocket with her free hand and pulled Xora's leg aside with her right, her hand still clamped around Xora's ankle. Withdrawing a small knife, she jerked forward and jabbed it into Xora's right side - directly into the still-healing bullet wound. The Archangel's reflexes were swift enough to grab the blade in time, but not before a good half of it was already in her side. The hand that caught it gushed blood with where the blade sunk into her palm, but she shoved it aside along with the woman.

"Tell me, who is Eagle?" she asked once more with as much venom as she could, cocking the shotgun once again. "This is your last chance. Who is Eagle?"

Isolde spat on Xora's boot, sneering at her. "What I can tell you is, you'll burn in hell, just like the rest of your friends that filled the stomach of my sister."

Xora pulled the trigger and landed a bullet straight through Isolde's skull, the woman's body immediately going limp. She didn't stop there; she emptied the entire cartridge of bullets in the Titan's head, the recoil of the blasts splattering blood all across both the room and herself. Flashes and bangs filled the room, holes littering the ground and walk around the indistinguishable body. When the shotgun was empty, she hurtled the gun onto the woman's body and gave it a final kick, her breath heavy.

She stood silent and still for a single moment, gazing at the mangled body of the woman before turning to Levi. Without wasting a fraction of time, she lugged his body onto her back and started out of the room.

"Are you awake?" she asked, side-stepping her way around the bodies of dead soldiers, the soles of her boots becoming soaked in the pools of blood. "Levi, if you're awake, are you alright?"

"Yes," Levi panted in response, his breath short and labored. She took great care to make sure he didn't see her receive the wound - or see where it gushed blood and stained her suit. "Is she... dead?"

"The woman's gone to the hell where she belongs. Don't worry about it, I want you to relax. You're safe now, Levi. You're safe. You're - you're safe." Her last word came out choked and she swallowed her relief, trying as gently as possible to lug his body onto her back. Though it took lots of groaning and apologizing, she eventually did secure him in place and began to move out.

It was quite easy to find her way to the exit; all she has to do was follow the trail of dead bodies. Blood soaked the floors, deep red footprints staining the ground wherever she stepped. She maneuvered her way around the labyrinth of bodies and curvy corridors, sweat beading her forehead; the wound in her side throbbed, but she moved forward relentlessly.

"I was so scared," she murmured, trying to keep Levi conscious. "Levi, I was terrified. All seven days, despite the fact that I worked my hardest and quickest, I knew every second was a lifetime. Every passing moment could have meant the moment you took your last breath. Every little bit of time was a sacrifice that had to ensure I could get you out of here alive. The moment I knew you were gone, the moment I saw that explosion at the storage unit, I didn't think my heart could take it."

"I'm... fine."

"I know, I know you're fine. I'm so glad you're okay. I don't... I don't think I've ever been more glad in my entire life. There was no way in hell I was going to have a repeat of that mission. There was absolutely no way I would let someone precious to me fall victim to the Titans once again."

"You don't h - have to... to worry about m - me."

"You're stupid to think I won't worry about you. Without a doubt, my priority is my comrades' lives, and I would gladly give up my own to save any of yours. You should know that by now."

Xora reached the ladder leading to the surface and made sure Levi was still tightly strapped to her body before hauling he and herself up the rungs. It was a taxing move; her body shook and her wound showed no signs of healing. Thankfully it wasn't long until she reached the top hatch and pulled herself out.

"Levi, are you still with me?" she asked, pulling herself to her feet as she continued forth.

"Mm," Levi grunted in response, though it was all he could muster.

"Good. I'm going to get rid of this place. I want you to brace yourself however you can... even though you really can't do much in this state." She walked a small distance to her vehicle, stumbling a few times over dead shrubbery and such, though she was sure to get on the other side of the vehicle. Slipping Levi inside, she laid him as gently as she could on the passenger seat, cringing when he let out a small grunt of pain.

Shutting the door, Xora pulled something out of her vest - a detonator. Pressing the cool device to her lips, she whispered, "For Selma, Barik, Otto, Malcom, and Amalia. I will carry on your wills." Then, she jammed down the bright red button and catapulted it as far as she could, running over to the driver's side of the vehicle. There was barely any time for her to run the engine and slam on the gas pedal as the huge explosion sounded, the incredible power of the eruption shaking the earth.

"What d - did you... do?" Levi breathed, his voice barely audible. Xora could tell he was becoming weaker by the minute; she had to get back to their headquarters as quickly as possible.

"I destroyed everything of that unit, including anyone that may have survived," she explained. "Nothing should be left of that wretched place. Stay with me, Levi. We'll be back very soon, I promise."

The ride back to HQ was rather torturous - at least, for Xora; every time she glanced over she'd see Levi on the very verge of passing out, but he really was giving ever ounce of his energy to stay awake.

Upon arriving, she dropped to the underground garage and quickly rushed out of the vehicle. Again, she tried to be as careful as possible when moving Levi into her arms; Hanji and the others were already waiting for them when she turned around.

"I have one of our best doctors in the clinic," she said in a hurried voice, her tone alarmed; she'd never seen the brunette woman so frantic in the entire time she'd known her. "Xora, your inju - " She faltered when Xora rigorously shook her head and put a finger to her lips.

"I can take him there," Vinicio offered, holding out his arms.

"We've moved him enough," Enfir interjected, shaking her head as she put Vinicio's arms down. "It would be better to let her take him, but... even she is hurt."

"Hurt?" Levi's weak voice repeated, his hooded eyes widening by a fraction. "Xor - ra, you - "

"I'm fine," Xora insisted, indeed placing Levi's limp body in Vinicio's arms. "It would be better if you take him. Let's go, now - there's no time to waste!"

"I agree," Eren spoke. He was the palest of them all, his eyes frozen upon Levi. Xora could see the horror in his eyes, the fear that was held in his usually sparkling irises.

"He'll be okay. I promise." She gave him a small smile as they set off, running across the training stadium towards the elevator chute.

But Xora didn't make it there; shock flitted across the faces of her team as she stumbled and fell, crashing onto the floor, unable to get back up. Their eyes followed the bloody trail she left from the garage to her spot, blood still gushing freshly from her wound. She lay still, pale, her face gaunt and frozen in a twisted expression of pain.

"I - I'm fine," she gasped, shakily rising onto her elbows. Reaching out a blood-covered hand, she pointed to Levi, the light leaving her eyes by the moment. "Please, save - save... Levi..." And with that, she collapsed, laying unmoving in a small pool of her own blood that had gathered around her body.

Despite the injury, she had refused to return without ensuring Levi's safety; the love she held for him was truly a double-sided blade.


	40. Code XL: A Tender Feeling

"Well, fuck me," Levi groaned as he opened his eyes, the soft light of the clinic blinding him. There was a muddled pain in his chest, and his head felt like it was plagued with an extremely thick fog. "Ugh... shitty four-eyes, where are you?"

"You're awake~!" the said mad scientist sung as she popped into the room, eyes lighting up when her gaze landed upon the bedridden corporal. "Earlier than expected, though I'm not too surprised. How are you feelin', shortie?"

"What happened?"

"Okay, ignore my question. You've been out for three days and a half now, which isn't too bad - the doctor and I predicted about four or five days. You pulled through great; just a few cracked ribs, your nose was a bit out of place, we had to do some skin grafting and lots of stitches to take care of those... flesh wounds, countless cuts and bruises - but your body's pretty damn durable. I would've expected a lot more."

"And...?"

Hanji sighed, understanding immediately what it was he inquired so insistently upon. "She's doing fine, Levi. You have nothing to worry about... and I think you must've gone a little blind."

"...What? I can see perfectly fine."

"No, you bigot." She cocked her head sideways. "Look before you ask."

Craning his neck, he looked over to see Xora sleeping soundly in a bed near him.

"There's no need to worry - she's woken up many times already," Hanji reassured him, sitting on his bedside. "She's just suffering from lots of blood loss - probably because of her determination to get you back. For once, she's been obedient in listening whenever I've told her she needs to rest and recuperate."

"How did this happen?"

"Ah, I forget that you didn't see. That woman managed to wound Xora strategically; her bullet would was slashed open, and the puncture was rather deep. Luckily - more like miraculously - it wasn't anything too life-threatening. A lot of rest is just what she needs, just like you, ya big knucklehead."

Levi heaved a big sigh, the pain in his chest tightening when he inhaled. "She's so... dumb. Even after I told her not to come after me, she - she exploded the place."

"I can't tell if it was for you or out of revenge - hell, maybe it was both. But it's because of her sacrifices that you're back, Levi. Rather than regretting what she's done, I think we should appreciate it. Thank that you're both alive with all of our hearts."

Levi grunted in defeat and laid his head back down on the pillow, his gaze still stuck on the curled-up form of sleeping Xora.

"Eren's doing fine, in case you were wondering," Hanji said in a quiet voice. "He... he explained everything to us yesterday. That little love triangle going on, or whatever the hell it was. He also said that he's decided you've always been right; I'm not really sure what that means, but he said that you would know." Levi didn't respond again; he was silent and felt a slight pang of guilt in his chest, but this was for the better.

A defeated sigh emanated from Hanji's lips as her shoulders sunk, but she almost immediately rebounded with a cheerful jump. "Well! There are things to take care of with our new team members. You will meet them soon. Sleep now, shortie!" There was a hint of reluctance in her step as she left the room. She even stopped in the doorway and flashed Levi one last worried look before leaving.

As soon as he was left alone, he tried to sit up, but the pain restricted him from doing so; he could barely even twist his torso without shocks jolting up his ribcage. It was a pitiful sight, the once nearly invincible soldier reduced to nothing but a scarred, bedridden man.

"Stop," a quiet, but sharp voice pleaded. Levi's head snapped sideways to find Xora's eyes open, still laying on her side. "You know you shouldn't be moving around in that state."

"Xora," Levi breathed, collapsing onto his back. "I - "

"I want you to rest right now, rest and nothing else. We can speak when you're able and well again, but for the time being, please allow yourself to heal."

"You were awake this entire time, weren't you?"

Xora was slow in responding, choosing her words carefully. "I won't deny that. But it doesn't mean anything."

"...Tell me why you did it."

"Did what?"

"Don't play stupid with me. I know you better than anyone else."

Xora was silent, contemplating his words and how he meant them. "Why did I come and save you? Did you expect I would just leave you as you were? Surely you can't deny that you weren't the least bit relieved the moment I appeared."

She spoke some truth; there wasn't any way Levi could say he wasn't happy she ended that horrendous torture he'd experienced... but the answer didn't satisfy him. "And what if you had died? I can barely imagine how you were able to... able to bring me here without dying of blood loss. Have you no perception of limits?"

"Limits don't exist in my world, Levi," Xora retorted. "Especially when it comes to saving the lives of my comrades. You know me best, don't you? If I can bring you back alive, I will do so by any and all means."

"Despite our purpose as agents of the Iridescent Empire, I sometimes wish you weren't so eager to toss your life away. It's... terrifying, honestly."

Xora heaved a large sigh as she removed herself from her bed, shuffling over to Levi's bedside. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his forehead gently. "It's my duty to ensure your safety. I'm glad you're back."

Levi averted his gaze and flushed, huffing. "If you're going to really welcome me back with a kiss, you might as well do it properly."

"There's a proper way to greet someone with a kiss?" Xora replied incredulously.

"Just come here." She did as he said and lowered her face to his; picking his head off the pillow, Levi pecked Xora clumsily upon the lips before falling back down.

Xora straightened, an astonished look coming upon her face; she brushed her lips with the tips of her fingers. It had been a long time since she felt them touch, and when they did it made her skin prickle excitedly.

"Will you stay with me?" Levi asked softly, Xora's breath catching in her throat.

"I - I have things Hanji needs me to attend to," she replied, chewing her bottom lip.

"Please? Just until I sleep. Then I'll be fine. But stay here with me."

The way he gazed at Xora seemed to lull her in, almost like a moth to a flame - those eyes absolutely dazzled her. There was a flicker of reluctance in her actions, but she nodded once and pulled aside a chair, making herself comfortable. Levi slowly shut his eyes after affirming her presence there, but twitched his hand in notion. Xora bit her lower lip as she placed her palm on top of his, fingers entwining perfectly like puzzle pieces; Levi pulled their hands close to his chest, the pair laying right on top of his heart.

There was the gentle thrumming of his heartbeat that vibrated through his hand to Xora's, a rhythmic and slow beat that was quite soothing to her. Eventually Levi's body went lax, his hold on Xora's hand loosening as he sunk into the bed. His breathing was soft, the best of his heart slowing to a quiet beat.

"Sweet dreams," Xora whispered as lowly as she could, slowly slipping her hand out of Levi's. She stood for a moment beside him, gazing over his slumbering form in a tender manner. It was quite the rare sight to see Levi sleeping so soundly; Xora wondered if he really ever got a proper amount of sleep, if not at least half of that. A twang of guilt struck through her when she remembered the endless bruises and scars beneath the sheets that covered him, knowing they wouldn't be there if she hadn't taken such a long time.

Lips pulling into a thin line, she stood and left the clinic, unable to look at Levi anymore. She wordlessly traveled to the library, where she made her way to the training stadium - but she wasn't there to train.

Coming upon the interrogation room, she could see Hanji and Mikasa leaving, both wearing aprons covered in splotches of blood. The brunette woman was holding a clipboard of blank paper, her face crestfallen with disappointment. Mikasa's fists were drenched in blood, her face stoic.

"Unsuccessful," Hanji sighed in response to Xora's inquisitive look. "We've exhausted almost all methods without killing him - which I doubt will really do anything. He hasn't spoken a word about the Titans, and refuses to admit he knows who they are."

"Let me try," Xora offered, pushing past the two. "Give me an hour."

"Are you sure?" Mikasa asked quietly, looking Xora up and down with an unamused expression. "It was only a few days ago that you came to us half dead. Not to mention, with what we've already tried, I doubt you can really do anything."

Xora shot Mikasa a small grin. This sent chills down the teenager's spine, a dreadful feeling suddenly pulling at her gut. "Do not underestimate me and my abilities. I'll see what I can do -  I won't be borrowing any of your 'toys', Hanji, so don't worry about the need of having to clean anything."

Hanji felt extremely uneasy, contemplating her options; at this point, she didn't know what to say about Xora's mental stability. It was at this moment that she realized Xora was an extremely dangerous person - and she suddenly felt grateful that she was on the IE's side, and not the Titans'. Otherwise, she was a force to be reckoned with, a person she would not wish to make an enemy out of.

Without another word, Xora graciously took the clipboard from Hanji with a single nod. And with that she entered the interrogation room, making sure to close and securely lock the door behind her. Mikasa and Hanji were quite incredulous, but did settle themselves outside of the room. They waited a good hour; within that time, no sound came from the room; it was completely quiet, and the two couldn't help but wonder what kinds of antics Xora was up to.

Nearly an hour later, the door to the interrogation room opened, and only then did they hear sound. They sprung to their feet and peered in, shocked to see Xora standing beside Piquet, her hand on his shoulder. The only wounds he bore were the ones Mikasa had inflicted upon him.

But the man was sobbing, shivering, trembling and hunched over; tears fell like rivers from his eyes as he shook his head vigorously.

" _S'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît arrêter_!" he pleaded through broken sobs. " _Je t'en supplie! Je vous ai dit tout ce que je sais, juste obtenir loin de moi_!" **[Please, please stop! I'm begging you! I've told you everything I know, just get away from me!]**

"I have everything recorded here," Xora said plainly, handing the clipboard over to Hanji. "I do strongly believe I have pulled every piece of intel possible from Piquet."

Hanji looked bewildered at first, but accepted the clipboard and scanned the written Intel with widening eyes.

"Amazing," she breathed, looking at Xora once again. "This... this will further our progress so much. With this we can even go as far as to get the Mona Lisa back, as well as possibly find and take Eagle!"

"Yes, we can." Xora turned to face Piquet again, flashing him a smile. He cowered at the sight of her and shrunk into the chair as far as he could, still shaking with terror.

"Just what exactly did you do?" Mikasa inquired, looking at the fear of Piquet in awe.

"That shall remain a secret," Xora answered with a smile before leaving the interrogation room, leaving a stormy atmosphere behind. "Now, we take back the Mona Lisa. And next, a Eagle."


	41. Code XLI: Xyrochron

The mission was put on a very temporary hiatus due to Levi's recovery time; it lasted for a few weeks, despite Xora's insistence upon offering herself to complete the mission alone.

"It doesn't matter that you're one of our best agents," Hanji said so sharply, it made Xora flinch. Never before had she seen the brunette so against something; maybe it was because of the past risky moves Xora executed rather sloppily. "This mission is going to require all of us, and I wouldn't be surprised if we needed Erwin to supply us with some more manpower. I don't care that your strength rivals mine exponentially, I don't care that you're most likely stronger than anyone in this building - but I am _not_ going to allow you to run into battle alone ever again. I've seen what you can do, Xora, and even I know that it doesn't matter if we have a million agents. We won't be able to win this war without you - so I won't let you die. You have a habit of barely escaping death." The mission was put on a very temporary hiatus due to Levi's recovery time; it lasted for a few weeks, despite Xora's insistence upon offering herself to complete the mission alone.

That lecture made Xora's complaining stop (though she was reluctant), thus she spent her time either planning out their next operation, studying, training - or taking care of Levi. Bonding with Esfir and Vinicio wasn't too hard, really; they often flinched whenever Xora made quick movements, but found that she wasn't as cold as she looked. Esfir often accompanied Xora whenever she went to the training stadium; the Russian woman seemed to look at Xora like she was some kind of role model. Though Esfir seemed to be the kind of woman who could crush pure iron in her hands, her demeanor was almost innocent around Xora - almost _playful,_ even, when she trained with her.

Vinicio, on the other hand, was absolutely awe-stricken with Xora's demeanor. He really expected a violent, sly, shrewd woman, but she was really very child-like. He noticed early on that she was unfamiliar with many social interactions. For example, once she was serving dinner at their usual meal time, but tripped as she was carrying a few glasses of water. The water absolutely drenched Vinicio in the ice-cold liquid. Xora looked astonished and flushed a bright red, blinking quickly in confusion at the sight.

"I - uh - " she stuttered, fumbling to find the right words. "Mr. R - Vinicio, it was my mistake, I am at fault - "

"It's fine," he laughed, taking off his shirt to reveal a thin muscle tank beneath. "My undershirt isn't too wet. Don't worry about it."

"But - but I have failed in bringing the water! It's wasted!" She had fallen to her knees and touched her forehead to the ground. "I deeply apologize!"

"I said it was fine!" Vinicio had frantically pulled the woman to her feet, shaking his head vigorously. "Please don't worry about it, _senorita_. This won't kill me."

Their interactions were often quite brief afterwards, and to the day, Xora still felt the need to apologize for such a foolish mistake. But their friendship was still a blooming bud, with many more memories to come.

Hanji and Armin were really the masterminds behind the plans for the next operation. Everyone else (aside from Levi) - especially Eren - would come in and discuss the propositions; often there would be a genius proposal added into context. At several points, all members (again, except Levi) rendezvoused in the data room to integrate the mission details into their minds. Hanji insisted that it would be absolutely incomplete, though, without Levi; she also reiterated that even after he had healed completely, it would take time until they would be ready to launch the operation.

"But why is that?" Mikasa had asked incredulously on a certain night. "Even now I think Captian is  
well enough to handle himself in a basic situation. Why waste even more time? The Mona Lisa's location could currently be changed, and in the time we waste, it could already be sold into the black market. And, we have to remember that every second passing means a moment of the Titans developing. We know of the advanced gadgets they use that could mean the doom of a sane humanity."

"Because we have our own technology we're developing," Armin explained as non-condescendingly as possible. "Although our progress right now is still in the works, it's about to come to a close; it's still only a prototype, but like you said, we really don't have much more time to waste."

"Zhen vhy don't ve start now?" Esfir questioned. "I don't see the point in vaiting until Corporal Levi has healed. Ve can start now, or at least as soon as the prototype is finished."

"The prototype's intended use is for two specific people," Hanji elucidated. "To explain this technology, it's a sort of device that will allow two people to become whole - to become one."

"How does this... this _thing_ work?" Vinicio piped up.

"It requires two people with similar mentalities as well as relationships that have very, _very_ deep roots. What it does is link their brains so that they can stay connected, no matter their location within a one-hundred kilometer distance from each other. We plan to use it as a tool to ensure the safety of both people's lives. Think of it as a gadget that controls one's body, propelled by both them and the controller of the gadget. It's like having eyes on the back of your head with double the strength, precision and control. It turns one into a... in a nutshell, it turns one into a superhuman. It will be one of our primary weapons against the titans."

"Eren and I fit those requirements perfectly," Mikasa interjected hastily, smacking her palm onto her chest. "We can get started with the training to use this system and be ready by the time Levi is done healing."

"Actually, you don't," Armin muttered, cringing at the glare Mikasa shot him. "Your roots aren't deep enough, and your mentalities are as similar either. Not to mention, the mental connection between you two would disintegrate immediately. Hanji, why didn't you tell them?"

"Tell them what?" Hanji looked at him curiously.

"...The price if the attempt of creating the connection fails."

"Oh." Hanji pressed her lips into a thin line, nodding at him. "This is still only the prototype, and we have no surefire way to prevent from the outcome of a failure, but... anyways. If we were to try and create the connection, and it isn't as strong as it needs to be, it could result in the mentality of one person being practically absorbed into the other. The victim would then be left just about brain-dead, with no means of return."

"Then it's obvious we can't risk it," Eren realized, his eyes averting to the floor. "Mikasa, I think even if we were to try... there's too much at stake for us. Even Armin said the connection would be too weak; we should trust them on that."

"In zhe end ve have very limited options," Esfir said slowly, her eyebrows furrowing. "If ve don't find two people, von't ve just have to continue the mission vizout the prototype? Zhere are very high risks at hand; vouldn't it be safer to just carry on the operation as it is?"

"The Titans have a huge advantage when it comes to technology," Hanji noted. "And it's the kind of technology that we have no concept of, something like several trump cards we couldn't even imagine predicting and combating. Although we have advanced technology we use as well, their's is unknownst to the rest of the world. We don't know what to expect, what they will hit us with. Therefore we've decided to develop technology that they also would have no knowledge of, and it would combat their own weapons."

"The prototype we developed, nicknamed Xyrochron ( **zy-roh-** **kron** ), currently has been designed for two people we've already selected as our best chance," Armin elaborated. As soon as the words left his lips, all attentions slowly turned towards Xora, who hadn't said a word the entire time.

She looked at all of the others with a steely gaze, knowing what they expected her to say. If this task had been given to her many months prior, she would immediately have accepted, knowing it was her duty to serve the Iridescent Empire with her life. She would've done as asked and expected, even if it meant she could've ended up a mindless zombie, destined for only death - but things had changed.

"There is only one thing stronger than my drive to exterminate the Titans," Xora spoke. "It's stronger than anything I feel - stronger than anything I've ever come to feel. It's even stronger than all of the pain I've ever felt over my lifetime combined and expanded to a thousand time its size. That thing is my will and urge to protect those precious to me. And if creating this mental connection at the risk of literally losing my mind has a great chance to protect my comrades, then undoubtedly I am willing to do it."

It was silent after she spoke, several expressions flashing among her comrades' faces. Esfir looked awe-stricken, her icey eyes practically glittering with admiration; Vinicio looked anxious and rather troubled, nervously chewing on his bottom lip.

"Then I guess we've got our test subjects in preparation," Hanji sighed breathlessly, large grin coming upon her face. "I can't wait to see the results!" And that was the end of that tense conversation.

Periodically, Xora was in the clinic treating Levi; she tried to say out as much as possible, but staying away from him was like trying to part the oceans. Often she'd only be there to feed him - broths, soft soups, or 'mushy shit dipped in more mushy shit'. He constantly needed support to sit up, and he ate quite slowly - but Xora couldn't tell if that was just because he wanted her to stay longer or if he actually needed so much time. Whenever she finished he'd go straight to sleep - but wouldn't let her leave until he had finally fallen into slumber.

Though it was very gradual, his condition did get better. Hanji liked to joke about how he couldn't recuperate as 'superhumanly' quickly as Xora, earning many questions from Esfir and Vinicio. Eren loved retelling the stories of Xora's close encounters with death, though she felt quite embarrassed he could remember every detail so clearly. At one point Esfir asked her why, Xora's only answer being that she regretted allowing the situations to occur. When she recounted Oluo, Petra, Eld and Gunther's deaths, the Russian woman made a move to not bring up the question again.

Eventually Levi had healed enough to stop being so bedridden, though Hanji and Armin ran several tests beforehand to ensure his health was in the right condition to be doing so. It was a relief to see the usually miserly man up and moving again, but he Hanji insisted he go through rehabilitation first. The suggestion threw him into a fit, with the man claiming, "You want _me_ to go through that unnecessary, cowardly bullshit?! I'll be fine, shitty four-eyes!"

He resorted to simply spending a great majority of his time in the exercise room, training privately and reworking his body as everyone else relocated to the training stadium to give him isolation. The only person brave enough to venture in there alone was Xora, who always gave him periodic visits to check up on his well-being and provide him protein bars and such.

"According to Armin, you should be back on your feet in another week if you keep up your exercising and diet at this rate," she told him, her eyebrow twitching approvingly. "Then we can get started on the training for the Xyrochron. But really, Hanji was begging Arming to start the training as soon as today, so be prepared for anything."

"What kind of - erngh - training could be used for this thing, anyways?" Levi inquired, setting the one-hundred kilogram dumbbell he was benching back on its stand. "This isn't the kind of technology we can test our body under, is it?"

"I... I'm really not sure either. I asked Hanji prior, but she was very unclear in her answer." She placed the few protein bars and bottles of water she'd brought with her beside the bench press. "All I can interpret from were that we really need to strengthen our minds' connection in the time before we run the link attempt, although when I asked her how exactly to do that, she simply stated that it was really up to us."

"As if we can rely on her for any ideas when this is just a prototype." Grabbing a bottle, he unscrewed the cap and chugged half of it before placing it back down with a satisfying grunt. "Although it's very vague and may not even be of use to us at all, I think I have an idea."

"What is it?"

Turning to her, an almost mischievous glint in his eyes glittered - a light that had been missing from his eyes until only recently. Holding out his hand, he taunted, "Do you want to find out?"

Xora's eyebrow twitched again as she contemplated his offer. What was this - this tension that built and bubbled in her gut, causing her heart to race even though she was only standing still? It intensified exponentially the longer Levi's razor gaze cut through her own.

Her answer was given when she placed her hand inside of his, and he led her away.


	42. Code XLII: Overdrive

It was not long until Levi and Xora were in the room in which Levi's lonely cello stood. A long while had passed since he'd touched it, with him being bed-ridden and all. Releasing Xora's hand, he slowly walked forward and removed it from its stand, taking the thick bow as he settled into the lone chair that stood beside the stand. His back faced her still form by the door. She moved until she stood facing him.

Sitting on the cold tile floor, she crossed her legs and watched with wistful eyes as Levi properly tuned the grand instrument. Before long, he was ready; a deep breath surged through him as he gracefully raised his forearm, long, slender fingers curved at the end of the bow, poised to play. Releasing the air in him, he placed the bow hairs against the strings and began to perform.

The cello sang the beautiful, low melodies of Bach's Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor's prelude, both haunting and absolutely enriching. It cried for the words Levi could never express in words nor tears, the sound peeling away Levi's tough outer layer to reveal the fragile glass of his heart, mind and soul. What was left of the stripped man was only this - this music. The music that revealed everything that was him and wasn't him - everything that made him nothing and made him whole. It was a complex structure of purity and corruption, an astonishing performance that Xora had never seen before.

A strange energy enveloped him as his fingertips skipped from string to string, flitting and sliding lower, then higher again; it was not Levi playing the instrument anymore. Rather, it was the cello playing _him._ Leading him, pulling him along, creating heart-wrenching music as he allowed it to grip onto him for the time being. The sight alone of his thick lashes hiding his closed eyes, gentle swaying to the tricky notes, eloquent motions fluidly bringing the bow along - it was all so spell-binding, so _beautiful_ \- it wasn't a sight that was easy to tear one's eyes away from.

Finally, when the last, sharp note rang, the tension that had built in the air snapped. It almost felt as if the entire time the two of them had been holding their breaths, releasing it once the bow finally left the string.

They didn't say anything for awhile, merely basking in the magnificence of the note that still slightly rang out, dancing about in the air and skipping in between the seconds of Xora's heartbeats. Only then did Levi's tense body relax, the man laying the cello upon its side, placing the bow on its curves. There was a sort of crackle in the air as he met Xora's gaze again, his eyebrow twitching at the vestige of a reminiscent sorrow.

"Astounding," Xora breathed, finally shattering that deafening silence. "To no surprise."

"It was one I'd been working on since that time I visited Piquet's shop alone," Levi mentioned.

"It's quite the grand piece."

"Quite the grand piece, indeed."

It was then that their conversation had been cut short by a certain four-eyed brunette that'd barged in without a warning, causing Levi's eye to twitch with annoyance.

"So _this_ is where the two of you sneaked off to, eh?" she remarked in a jokingly snide tone. "Well, well, well. I hope you didn't do anything... you know, like _that_ while you were alone."

"Cut to the chase and get to the point," Levi sighed in an exasperated tone. "Just what did you want?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just, I think very soon it would be a great time to begin training for the Xyrochron synchronization. And by very soon, I mean now. In the data room. Where Armin and Esfir are expecting us."

Levi turned to look at Xora, shooting her an inquisitive look. "Well, then. Shall we get going?"

"May as well," she responded as she stood. "I think that beautiful performance has calmed our nerves enough to think as one."

"'Beautiful'?"

"Quit it with the lovey-dovey shit and get going," Hanji complained like that of a child, giddily hopping from foot to foot. "There's this new gadget we also want to test out on the two of you, so I'd really appreciate it if, you know, you hurried the hell up."

"Is that really how you should be talking to your guinea pigs?" Levi retorted, headed out the door behind Hanji with Xora close behind him.

"Maybe not to Arch - Xora, but to you, do you really think I care?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Wow, it's as if you've read my mind, shortie!"

The sarcastic conversation was quite amusing for Xora; she continued to listen to the two bicker as they traveled to the data room, their arguing finally dying down when they approached a door Xora had never seen before on the right side of the vast room. Armin and Esfir were indeed there, dressed in white coats with clipboards in their hands.

"I know I don't look zhe part," Esfir mumbled sheepishly, her pale face turning red when Xora took notice. "But back at my home I tend to zhe technology department quite often. Armin - nice guy, he is - gave me the design for Xyrochron, so I have zhe knowledge, don't vorry."

"We weren't worried at all," Levi responded with a shake of his head. "If you were assigned to this mission by Erwin, then that's all the reason more to trust you."

Turning an even brighter red, Esfir nodded gracious smile, moving aside to open the door behind her.

"Where does this lead to?" Xora inquired, stepping through the door to come to a dark stairway. Everything consisted of metal; when she reached the bottom of the stairway, there was a long, dimly-lit hallway - but it was really more like a tunnel.

"Since this is such a huge project, we constructed an entirely new test room to act as training grounds for us," Armin replied. "Honestly, we just don't know of what exactly could happen when we really put the Xyrochron to use. Like we said, this is just a prototype; we haven't tested it before. Something unexpected could happen and we would like to eliminate as many risks as possible."

"Sounds reasonable. What am I to do?"

Hanji didn't answer until they finally came to the end of the tunnel, opening to show a wide chamber with many strange- and complex-looking machines filling the wide metal space. "You'll see."

They were led to a door beside one of the strange contraptions that looked like a tank machine gun combined with three different bazookas and a cannon.

"The hell's this?" Levi asked.

"A new veapon ve've been developing, sir," Esfir answered. "It's called zhe CHAIN, zhe Controlled Heliac Artillery Innovation of Nadir. 'Tis quite a destructive veapon, and can deal enough pover to obliterate a small city using only 75% of its full pover. It is one of zhe many dozens ve have already created, and vill provide a great advantage if ve vere to launch a full-frontal attack against zhe titans."

"I just can't wait until we can test the results of those," Hanji cooed, finally reaching another door. "What _this_ chamber is for, is a very particular analysis of one's brain. Essentially, we would like to map out the functions of your brains as well as monitor their activities. Through this we hope to find the best techniques to form a strong mental bond between the two of you. All you do is go inside, and there will be a chair with a helmet waiting beside you. Never mind the billions of cords attached to it, they're just there to help determine your thoughts and cerebral activity."

She placed her hand against the wall right beside the door handle, a pale blue glow appearing by her fingertips then dragging down until it was a silhouette around her entire hand. It blinked off and a blank screen flickered to life right above the door. "Whatever is going on in your brain will show on the screen."

"First, we'd like for Levi to enter," Armin chided, holding up two small vials. Silver, metallic-looking liquid sloshed around in the skinny, tall vials. "But before you go in, Corporal, please ingest this catalyst. It contains moderate amounts of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine as well as a few other mixed in chemicals. They are a few of the main chemical messengers of functions in your bodies. All it will simply do is put your brain slightly into overdrive - no worries, all of this is premeditated with a lot of calculations and safety procedures taken with monitored amounts of each chemical - and it'll amplify your brain activity, giving us an easier time to read your cerebral activities."

"The mixture should give us a good ten minutes to observe your brain activities before its effects begin to wear off," Hanji jumped in. "Afterwards, though, you'll feel extremely tired - that's the one main disadvantage of this technique, but it will seriously help our studies as well as ability to assure nothing awry will go on during the Xyrochron procedure."

Levi traded glances with Xora before gingerly taking one of the vials, popping off the bright red cap and tipping his head back, downing the solution in one large gulp. He shuddered as the frigid liquid slid down his throat, practically clinging to the sides of his esophagus; the damned potion tasted like what it did when chewed mint gum was mixed water, only there was a sickly sweet taste as well, and the sensation crawled around his insides all the way down to his stomach.

"That's absolutely disgusting," he complained, handing the now-empty vial with the replaced cap to Armin. Almost immediately, the chemicals seemed to take effect; Levi was becoming antsier by the second. "Well, alright, then. Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"Most definitely," Esfir beamed, placing her hand in the same spot Hanji did earlier, with the light appearing around her hand. Several series of locks and metal were heard clanking and the heavy, nine-centimeter thick door swung open. Cold air billowed from inside, the chamber dark except for a single light right above the chair that sat in the center of the fairly-sized room. Indeed, beside the chair a helmet-looking contraption hung from a series of wires from the ceiling.

"Don't take too many notes," Levi sighed under his breath as he practically sprinted in, seating himself comfortably upon the chair. The door closed tightly behind him and the locks and metal were heard clanking again, most likely locking him in - or keeping others out. Peeking inside the small, circular window with glass several centimeters thick, Xora could see him don the helmet and close his eyes, settling back into the seat.

Almost immediately, the screen above the door morphed from its blank, dark form to one full of life. Graphs and statistics and several pieces of data appeared, each rapidly changing and showing different pieces of information by the minute. Armin pulled a tablet out from his coat - who knew _where_ the child kept it - and seemed to be able to manipulate the upper screen by using the tablet. In the bottom right corner, it seemed to display what thoughts were currently running through Levi's mind.

Upon close inspection, it revealed blurry but recognizable scenes involving Xora; the way she must've looked as she stood beside his bed in the clinic as he was recuperating, her form standing beside her windowsill in her room, gazing at the stars, her form appearing in the doorway of the white room where he was tortured for over a week straight - nearly all of the scenes that whirred past the screen contained Xora.

But the others barely paying attention to that; Esfir, Hanji and Armin all were scribbling down notes as quickly and vehemently as they could on their clipboards. Near the end of the ten minutes, all of them had already gone through several pages of jotted, sloppy notes. By the end of the session, the door unlocked automatically and the door swung open by itself, an exceptionally exhausted Levi practically collapsing out of the room.

Xora dove forward and caught him in her arms, helping him through his struggle to reclaim his footing.

"Holy... shit," he panted staggering to his feet. "What... the hell... _was_ that?" There was sweat beaded upon his brow and his breathing was heavy.

"Are you going to be okay?" Xora asked him, grasping onto his shoulder to further steady him. Anxiety thudded through her veins at the sight of Levi so battered.

"I'll be fine. Just... be careful. It feels like... like a... decade-long marathon."

"With rest, he'll be good as new," Hanji reassured her. She took the remaining vial from Armin and thrusted it out to Xora. "Plus, he rarely ever gets any real sleep, he'll be fine. The shortie's totally used to it. Your turn~!"

Xora eyed the solution suspiciously before reluctantly taking it, chugging it down and handing back the empty container in less than a few seconds. She groaned at the sensation of the liquid reaching her stomach and the effects kicking in; every color, sound and smell amplified what seemed like a hundred times. The sudden change created a small headache around her temples.

"In you go!" Hanji insisted, pulling Levi aside as she motioned for Xora to enter the chamber. Shaking her head, Xora shuffled in and plopped into the chair, taking the device and placing it upon her head. The door shut behind her as well, and the session began.

Levi watched the screen display numerous forms of data, just as it had for Xora, but he noticed that all four of the observers were intensely watching the screen that displayed her thoughts. Armin changed the formatting so that it showed solely that screen of her mind, the rest of the data suddenly not seeming to matter anymore.

It first showed the hazy, static-like moving images of flames and embers, burning and eating Xora's vision. What looked like the interior of a small house was being eaten by fire, and the blazes slowly approached Xora. It eventually morphed into the scene of a hospital room, but these seemed to be even more hazy. The perspective swung to the side and laid upon the crying form of what looked like a younger Levi, frantic and desperate, screaming and sobbing silently.

But the scene soon faded into that of a grotesque one. It fluctuated constantly and changed almost by the second, but these moving images were crystal clear. First it showed one body with its throat absolutely torn out, a face of horror upon the man's bloody-stained face; then next another one with only the upper half of a body in a vicinity. The next was truly horrifying; it displayed an absolutely mutilated body, it was hard to tell it even was originally whole and one; there was blood everywhere.

The perspective suddenly whizzed upwards to see a small crowd of what looked like Titans, their faces trapped in maniacal grins that were dripping with blood and flesh and guts. In particular, there stood out a white-haired woman, her jade eyes flashing like a viper's. She looked extremely similar to that of one the agents had previously encountered - Isolde Freya. The Titan's mouth moved, but there wasn't a single sound that played from the screen. Xora's perspective shook and quickly panned down to a large combat knife that was held in vehemently trembling hands, pointed straight towards the Titans.

But faster than the screen could show, the Titans lunged forward, like a lion pouncing on its prey - and the screen faded to black. Static appeared and changed into an extremely hazy screen of a blonde woman grabbing the knife from Xora's hand and practically flying forward, slitting the throats of the Titans. As they realized they were just to meet their demise, the woman pulled out a strange contraption from her jacket and lifted it toward the sky. A profoundly bright flash blasted from the sky to the contraption, then to the bodies of the Titans. The bodies then just about exploded, but the scene faded to black again, hindering the knowledge of what became of them.

When the screen came back on, the woman - drenched in blood - faced Xora's view, her arms extended as if placing her somewhere. Her face was blurry and the features barely enough to tell something distinct, but it was easy to tell her eyes were an icy, light shade of blue, blonde hair tied back into a bun. She placed the knife into Xora's hands and firmly wrapped her fingers around the handle before standing and turning around, dashing away. Then the screen proceeded to fall out of focus until it wasn't was no longer on anymore, but before it did, it was almost perfectly legible to read the five letters that were labeled across the back of the mysterious woman's jacket.

 _Eagle_.

And just when realization hit the four, an alarming buzz began to blare from the chambers. Twelve minutes had gone by. This snapped them from their astonishment and Hanji hurried to open the door, but it wouldn't. The usual locks and clanks sounded, but it was cut off mid-process and a creaking, rusty sound came forward from the mechanics inside the doors and walls.

"What's going on?" Levi demanded, rushing forward and pulling on the handle. It didn't budge. "Shitty four-eyes, what the fuck did you do? _Why isn't the door opening_?" He anxiously peered into the small window and saw that Xora was still sitting the chair, the helmet still upon her head. Her eyes were closed, face twisted into a grimace; she was soaked in her own sweat, her hair sticking to the sides of her face. A small stream of blood trickled from her nose.

"Zhis shouldn't be happening!" Esfir cried frantically, tapping on a hologram on the other side of the door. "I think - I think the chamber's functions may have been put into overdrive, or the - "

"Whatever the fuck's going on, get the door open!"

They worked hastily, Hanji trying over and over to use her handprint recognition to open the door. Esfir continued to tamper with the hologram and Armin fiddled with his tablet; Levi could do nothing but pound on the door and try to tug the door open, but nothing seemed to work. He caught on an idea and veered to look at the CHAIN, the other three noticing the moment he turned his head.

" _No_ ," were Hanji's first words, said with so much force it threw even Levi himself off-course. "Whatever it is you're thinking, do _not_ do anything reckless, shortie. You know that it could result in something much worse - "

"You're all taking too long," Levi refused, completely disregarding the brunette's words. "I don't care what - "

"Got it!" Armin interjected, the metal clankings resuming and coming to a sudden stop. Turning back to the door, Levi gave it a great heave and it jerked open. He swung it as far open as he could and bolted in, his body forgetting all of his previous exhaustion. Steam poured out from within the chamber, and when he entered, the air was thick and humid. The moment the door open, Xora's eyes opened and she weakly sat forward,  sliding the helmet off of her head.

"Levi," she breathed, barely able to find the strength to keep her eyes open. She hauled herself unsteadily out of the chair.

"Yeah, I've got you," he said as he dashed forward, catching her limp body just as her legs buckled. She crumpled in his arms and fell unconscious. Permeated in her own sweat, she looked as if someone had shaved a good ten years off of her life; the overdrive of the system had greatly overheated and left the room feeling stuffy and hot.

He lifted her in his arms and carried her out to fresher, more open air, but he couldn't tear his mind away from the memory of what showed on the screen.

Eagle.

And by the drained looks on the others' faces, he could tell that they couldn't either.


	43. Code XLIII: Xora's Theory

The three scientists were silent and unmoving as Levi left, making his way out of the test room, headed for the clinic. He was feeling the exhaustion kick back in, the edges of his vision growing hazy. In his chest, the faint stab of pain every time he took a breath had returned from the injuries he had received during his week with Isolde. But as Hanji had pointed out, this wasn't truly abnormal; he was used to living actively on only a few hours of sleep. 

Once in the clinic, Levi placed Xora in a bed, wiping away a small trickle of blood from her nose with the back of his hand. It left a streaky red mark on her face, but the flow had stopped for the most part.

Turning around, he jammed his finger onto a button on the wall beside the bed, then shuffled over to the sink where he scrubbed his hands clean. Less than a minute later, Vinicio stepped into the room, concerned astonishment appearing on his face the moment his eyes landed on Xora.

"You called?" he inquired, tilting his head toward the blinking watch on his wrist.

"Yes," Levi sighed, trudging over to their medicines cabinet. "Nice to finally have a proper meeting with you, Vinicio. I haven't even properly greeted Esfir, now that I think about it, but whatever. You may call me Levi. Please take care of Xora, I have urgent matters to tend to. I've read up on your agent profile and saw that you excel in the medical field."

"I - I do, yes. I will treat her as best as I can. What's the matter?" Vinicio's eyes followed Levi as the short man swiped a container of caffeine pills, twisting the cap open and taking three pills. "I mean, what's happened to her?"

"She's just exhausted, and she needs a lot of rest. Please check her cerebral activities and make sure her levels are normal. If they aren't, bring them to normal levels." Levi swallowed all three pills consecutively and headed for the door. "Clean her up a bit. And... I'm sorry for having to leave her in your care like this."

Without another word, he returned to the data room and found the three scientists huddled around the table, each looking to be having an intense discussion. All of their heads turned the moment Levi approached the table, their expressions quite reproachful.

"I know what you're all wondering," Levi said, defensively raising his splayed palms. "But she hasn't ever told me a word of what we just saw. Hell, I don't think she knows herself of those memories."

"She's likely a victim of PTSD," Hanji murmured, her thumb and index finger pressed against her chin in deep thought. "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, from that... encounter. What she's told us may be memories her mind created to somehow cope with the traumatic event, but I... I still can't make sense of what we saw."

"Zis... Zis 'Eagle' person," Esfir interjected, her steely eyes glinting. "Whoever zey are, zey killed Corporal Levi's squad, correct? And injured Xora to the point vhere she almost died herself? Zen I don't see why zey may have saved her back on that mission, O-17."

"Perhaps this was a time when Eagle was not yet affiliated with the Titans?" Armin theorized. "Maybe they used to bear arms with the Iridescent Empire?"

"Then wouldn't that make Eagle a traitor to the IE?" Levi jumped in, brows knitted tightly together. "Shitty four-eyes, check our database of those who have betrayed the IE. Maybe we'll find someone who fits the description. In the projection, it was a blonde woman, with blue eyes. By comparing her height to the nearby landscape, I'm guessing she must've been no taller than one hundred and fifty centimeters."

Hanji went over to the control panel and began sorting through the database for past agents who had turned their backs on the organization, narrowing down the search to dozens of women. A sigh rippled through the brunette woman as she stepped back, gazing at the several portraits of past traitors on the large screen. "There's too many... what can we do with this?"

The four were silent, brooding over their limited options for several minutes before coming up with nothing.

"Ve should take suggestions from Vinicio, Eren and Mikasa as well," Esfir suggested, the others agreeing.

Minutes later, the three had arrived and Levi explained the situation to them. They were left as boggled as the four who had witnessed the projection, each desperately searching for some kind of opportunity to create more evidence.

"Wait... didn't Xora attain an extremely large amount of intel from her several trips to that Titans' facility where Levi was held?" Vinicio suddenly chimed.

"...Yes," Eren said slowly, his eyes widening as realization dawned upon him. "If we merge the information we got, we could possibly find a match. Didn't the Isolde woman say she was the chair of the Interrogation and Torture Unit? If they found out that some Titans were former agents of the IE, they probably extorted them for information. They most likely interrogated any IE agents if they ever got their hands on one, so I'm sure - "

"Yes!" Hanji cried, hastily typing away at the control panel. "Vinicio, Eren, you guys are geniuses! Why didn't I think of this earlier?! Oh my, if I simply extract the files of interrogated persons from the Unit's core and pull a list of any Iridescent Empire agents, and if I merge them with our current suspects list, I can eliminate outliers and find stronger - "

"That's enough talk, do more," Levi cut her off, shaking his head. Less than a minute later, Hanji had successfully followed through and tapered the list down to four women. It seemed that the mission had finally found a new path to follow - except for one small problem.

"All four are dead," Mikasa muttered flatly. "How can this be? Captain Levi _did_ tell us that Xora's savior was most definitely alive and well."

"Eagle was one hundred percent alive when they attacked us!" Eren exclaimed, his voice shaking. "No zombie could've taken out - could've taken out the others, Xora and myself just like that."

"Let's see... only one of these women _were_ unconfirmed if dead," Hanji pointed out. On the large computer screen, the portrait of a sullen-faced woman. Her eyes - a lighter blue than Xora's and Esfir's - slanted slightly upwards, a broad nose upon her defined face. Blonde hair wrapped in a low bun, she looked to be of a quite muscular build. "But that status has changed to unknown. Her name is Neina. Neina Ageel. Supposedly she left the Iridescent Empire only about seven years ago, disappearing after an encounter with a few hostile Titans. Originally she was presumed dead, but was spotted nearly two years later at a Titans' facility in South Africa we were able to successfully bomb and destroy not too soon afterwards. It's said she was caught in the blast, but her body or any trace of her was never found, or has been found ever since."

"Is it possible that she could've survived?" Esfir questioned. "I mean... she looks like she could've definitely been the woman we saw in the projection."

"There's an extremely low probability, but there's still the slim chance," Hanji responded in an amused tone. "If she has, then she has been avoiding sight for a long time now quite well."

"She's our best lead, then," piped up a cold voice, causing everyone's heads to whip around. A collective gasp emanated from the agents as they spotted an exhausted Xora by the doorway, holding onto the frame to support her. She still looked pale and exhausted, but that fire in her eyes was inextinguishable. "Hanji, tell me anything else you can on this Neina woman. I'm going to find her."

Levi opened his mouth to say something in outburst, but Hanji rose a hand sharply and stopped him. "If you really think I'm going to allow you to just up and go after her in your current state, you're mad. Everything must take careful planning. Besides, as Hanji said, she hasn't been spotted for over two years. It's much more likely that she's dead."

"There's always the chance that she is in fact alive and I will take it. Also, I believe now will be a great time to tell you of my theory."

Levi was prepared to speak out against her again, but Mikasa jumped in before he could.

"Let's listen to her," Mikasa suggested. "I think we're all aware of how skilled Xora is in the art of attaining what she wants. Her capabilities both physically and intelligently is practically immeasurable. She tracked one of the main HQs of the Titans and destroyed the place - turned it to nothing but rubble. Not to mention, she did the entire thing _under our noses_  - and under the Titans' noses as well. Is that not more than enough proof to say that maybe, just once, we should listen to what she has in mind?"

The others were silent, and Levi's stoic face was pale, eyes glinting with a restrained frustration. But there truly was no denying it; Xora was probably one of the most terrifyingly intelligent people in that room. The most capable. She nodded towards Mikasa in thanks, but wobbled before sliding against the frame of the door to the floor in struggle to keep her balance. Levi started once her nosebleed began to dribble down her upper lip once again, but she wiped it away with the back of her hand and held out a splayed palm to keep him back.

"I'll be fine," she panted, kneeling on the floor with a hand still on the door frame. "Just listen to me; it may not sound as if it's enough evidence to back up my claims, but I believe it may lead to increasing our knowledge of the Titans.

"Firstly, the HQ I found belonging to the Titans was located underground. This may be why satellite figures cannot locate it, and how it has been escaping the IE's naked eye for so long now. There were also devices designed to interrupt the electromagnetic waves discharged by satellites as well. Just think - how much effort have we really put into searching underground? Or underwater, even? Any of their facilities could be found at any of these locations that we have but barely any effort into searching.

"Not only that, Eren - you told me of the time when Mikasa and Levi... saved you and I after our encounter with Eagle. You said when Levi engaged Eagle, they practically... disappeared. Disintegrated into morning but dust. How could this be possible? Did the Titans develop a kind of technology that could now teleport?

"But I kept thinking about these few characteristics. Eagle could have stopped us at any given time during our pursuit, but chose to specifically stop at that clearing. Why not right after the pursuit began? Or why not farther north, or off to the west? Eagle followed a single straight line, their path unwavering. It was almost as if they were headed towards a particular destination. If they had this teleportation technology, they could've escaped easily at any time as well as gotten away with it. Why did they wait until that exact location to finally take us down?

"So, my theory is, their main bases must be located at places hard to reach, like underground, underwater, hell - even in the sky. Not places like in caves and mountainsides and deep in rainforests. Places free from sight - absolutely free from sight. And possibly, not _just_  their bases - perhaps almost every single facility under the jurisdiction of the Titans.

"And I also suspect the way Eagle was able to disappear or 'teleport' by escaping to the underground - similar to the vault-looking hatch I had discovered. Maybe we need to reinvestigate the area where we had the encounter, and scope the ground; maybe we'll find something that'll lead somewhere."

The others didn't say anything. Hanji was lost in thought; Armin looked absolutely bewildered. Esfir and Vinicio exchanged glances of astonishment, and Eren's face was pale. Mikasa was quite expressionless, but her dark eyes glittered.

"...You truly are as terrifying as they say," Hanji finally breathed, but she wore a smile. "Xora, I've gotta admit - you're pretty damn amazing."

"All only for my Empire," Xora whispered. The blood trail was fresh and new again; Xora was running out of room on her hands and wrists to wipe her nose. "I suggest we get started as quickly as possible. There is a possibility that the Titans destroyed that route that may have helped Eagle escape, but I doubt it; underground facilities take time, money and and resources to build, so I wouldn't think they would throw it all away on such an occasion."

"I think this is absolutely genius," Armin beamed. "That's so much to take into account and deduct. Xora, you're incredible. I'll immediately get into laying out the plans. Ah, Mikasa and Esfir, if the two of you could help me, that'd be amazing."

"I'll try to find out as much as I can on Neina," Hanji said, turning back to the control panel.

"Uh, Armin," Eren called meekly. "Let me help you."

"Sure, come here," the blonde responded as he and the two women went over to the table to discuss plans.

Vinicio walked over to Xora and kneeled down beside her, offering a hand. "Xora, _señorita_ , you should really be getting more rest. I can't believe you're up right now, but it's not healthy. Your body is very weak right now. Let's go back, okay?" He wore a kind smile, slowly helping Xora to her feet, her arm over his shoulder.

"Thank you, Vinicio," Xora thanked, but a sudden movement swept her upwards. It was Levi, who had come from behind and scooped her up into his arms.

"I can take it from here," he muttered, clearing his throat. "Thank you for your kind offer, Vinicio. If I need anything I will let you know. Good day. Ah, and thanks for caring for her earlier."

And he stomped off to the clinic, placing Xora into the bed with a sour expression. She smiled softly at the sight, settling back onto the bed as he stood, arms crossed across his chest tightly.

Reaching upwards, Xora took his face into her hands and pulled him close, pressing a firm kiss onto his lips. He was tense at first, but melted into it, gently running a hand through her short hair. Xora wanted to stay like that awhile longer, feeling his warm presence against her lips, but he pulled back.

"You should get some more sleep," he whispered. One hand behind her head, he pulled her close and left one more kiss upon her forehead. "And please... save yourself."


	44. Code XLIV: The Will to Die

The next few weeks for Xora were spent almost always with Levi, training extremely hard for the Xyrochron. It initially began with strange machines that had been constructed to bend the brainwaves of the test subjects' slowly and gradually until they became the almost, if not exactly, the same. Their schedules and cravings slowly synced; their sleep cycles matched nearly perfectly, and they had similar diets with similar portioning, as well as indistinguishable exercising regimens.

But no matter how closely their mentalities were synced, the characteristics of their personalities remained distinct. Levi's habit for cleaning happened whenever Xora practiced her physical combat; as per usual, Levi's sarcasm was as snide as always, and Xora was her usually reserved self.

Eventually the training dissolved into simple mind games similar to games that seemed to be constructed to children. Which card would they pick, the left or right right? Which color would they pick, red or blue? Which shape would they pick, the square or the circle? In the beginning, the testing showed little success; they always seemed to pick the opposite choices. But eventually they began to see change; with every passing day, their choices began to match more often.

And then it got much more complicated as time went on: of a list of fifty-seven people, which one stood out the most to them? Of three-hundred and ten cities in the world, which one stood out the most to them? Soon, their minds were so similarly synced that in a high-definition picture of a beach, they would zoom into the same spot and pick the same single grain of sand. And soon, every single time they took one of these tests, their answers would be exactly the same.

The others mainly prepared for their next big assignment: infiltrating a facility of the Titans' that supposedly lay underneath the ice of an island near the coast of Antarctica. The place was called Sturge Island, a part of an icy archipelago; it was because of this that those on the mission suspected there were more on the icy continent, Antarctica.

Although the plan (so far) was going accordingly, the agents were still uneasy. There were still many things unaccounted for: for example, what Armin, Esfir, Hanji and Levi had seen during Xora's brain scan. No one had told Xora yet of what they'd seen in fear of the impact on her emotional stability, which could drastically change their progress on the training with the Xyrochron's mind compatability. But the others were also aware of the fact that the longer they waited, the longer they left the matter unprecedented, the harsher the effect would be on Xora if she were to ever find out what could be the truth.

But no one bore the courage to tell her.

Xora was aware that Eagle was a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes of a petite stature, but no one ever revealed to her how they got these details. A few times she questioned the others, but they waved it off as intel they received from some of the Titans' archives.

Also, in the meantime, Xora was preparing for her own venture out into the field - alone. She was to return to the forest where they had first interacted with Eagle, where the Special Ops squad had lost their lives. Her mind's mere glimpse at those memories often sent shivers down her spine, but she had to resist them.

One late night, Xora and Levi were spending the little leisure time they had in the library, poring over novels and encyclopedias of the world. All was quiet, and the atmosphere was tranquil, the night peeking through the blinds halfway draped over the large windows, the dim glow of the chandeliers, the gentle thrum of each other's breathing, the gentle swishing of pages turning. Xora was unusually wearing a thin tank and fitted sweatpants, choosing to abandon her suit to better enjoy the relaxed environment of their little freetime. The silence was rather comforting.

That is, until Xora spoke.

"Levi," she murmured, drawing Levi's gaze up to look at her across the small circular table; he noticed that her gaze was not on her novel, but ventured past him and out through the window his back faced. She was most likely looking at the stars, like always. "Have you yet wondered what would happen if one of us were to die?"

"To die?" Levi repeated, aghast at the sudden thought. "What - where is this coming from?"

"Sorry, I didn't meant to startle you. I meant, what would happen if one of us were to die in action? If, during this mission, if we succeed in the Xyrochron connection and use it during our launch in Antarctica, one of us were to be killed?"

Levi was silent for a few moments, then spoke. "...I have asked both shitty four-eyes and Armin that question. But their answers were the same: they don't know. Because this is simply a prototype, and we are guinea pigs, there's no say in what would happen as a result of one of us getting killed. They only have good guesses of what will happen before and during the connection - but after it, they have absolutely no knowledge."

"So... what do you _think_ would happen, then?" Xora's tone was more curious than morbid, but Levi shifted uncomfortably.

"The mental link would most likely simply be severed," Levi responded as nonchalantly as he could, but he couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of fear. The thought of one of them dying was certainly a more than terrifying thought, if not more so than painful. "We would shrink back into the person we once were, right? Physically, I mean. But mentally? Who knows what price there is to pay."

Xora brooded over his answer, but seemed satisfied with it in the end.

"Why do you ask?" Levi inquired in a low tone, raising his eyebrow.

"I was only wondering," Xora said with a shrug, her gaze flickering back down to the thick novel held flat under her fingers. But Levi noticed that her eyes stayed fixed, not shifting left to right, reading the words. She was _still_ wondering.

"I would really appreciate if you were more upfront about your thoughts, than leave me to imagine a thousand scenarios with horribly tragic endings."

Xora's cerulean eyes finally rose and met with Levi's silver ones, both clashing like storms. "I will tell you, but I want you to promise me one thing."

"I never make blind promises."

Xora's eyes were still showing that behind them, her mind whirred, her unreadable stare calculating her words carefully. "I want you to promise me that if, at any point, the Titans happen to get their hands on me to take me in, that you will kill me. If I am to become captive to the Titans, before they get the chance to ever take me away, promise me that you will be the one to pull the trigger that will send a bullet straight through my skull."

For once - to Xora's utter astonishment - Levi's jaw set, but his face stayed absolutely expressionless. Then he said something even more shocking: "Alright."

"You promise me?" Xora breathed in more confusion than graciousness.

"Yes. On one... circumstance."

Xora's stomach dropped; of course. She should've known. "And that circumstance is...?"

"That right after I send that bullet through you, the next one goes through me."

"But... but that's absolutely ridiculous!" Xora burst. "My death should not, and will not, spur yours, Levi. I simply won't allow it! You cannot die because of me, you cannot allow my death to be in vain."

"I don't care. I won't agree to such a heartbreaking promise."

Their gazes were nearly catastrophe-inducing; they didn't say a word, but there was a war raging between the two of them. Xora wished simply for the best, but Levi's stubbornness wouldn't allow such reckless thinking that seemed almost kindred to Xora. It was typical of her to impulsively throw herself away for such seemingly small matters, but this time, Levi simply wasn't going to let her have her way.

"I shall tell you something regardless, then," Xora harrumphed. She shut her book without folding the corner of the page, Levi's brow twitching once as he did the same. "Armin and Hanji never specified what kind of connection it was. I've noticed that the two have kept exactly how the Xyrochron will effect us to only themselves - but I wouldn't doubt that they're not even sure, either.

"What happens during the connection? Do our minds become one, and we move and act like a single being, with no separate thought? Or, does a strength that cannot be used simultaneously come forth in one, a person from the sidelines acting like a guide or puppeteer to the person in action? Or is the Xyrochron simply a mental connection that increases our awareness and allows us to become closer in being?

"Whatever it is - I thought maybe, when one dies, the connection is not severed, but rather similar to what would happen if the connection fails. One consciousness is absorbed into the other because they're so deeply bound. I'm not sure what would exactly occur in such a situation. Then maybe, their consciousness would eventually die out and fade into nothing as the one who is alive lives on."

Levi took the time to analyze and ponder over her theories; they made sense, but were also completely absurd.

"Why would you spend so much time brooding over such a thing?" he asked, that knit between his brows creasing more tightly. "Or more over, why did you choose to tell me this?"

"Because I feel it's better to have something to build off of, rather than to suddenly have the ground drop out from beneath our feet." Xora's eyes blurred for a single moment. "And though you refuse to kill me, ultimately, I will die. I must. I will even resort to somehow taking my own life, rather than leaving it to the Titans to extort. I won't let them gain that advantage against the Empire. I won't."

"But what if I were to once again fall into their hands?" The furtive expression upon Xora's face did not flicker. "Would you be willing to kill me then and there?"

"You won't fall into their hands. I won't allow it."

"I wouldn't allow the opposite way to happen either."

Again, the battles between their gazes raged, worse than two storms clashing.

In the end, Levi heaved a great sigh, standing from the small curved bench around the opposite side  of the table. He slunk onto the other bench where Xora was sitting, her noteworthy gems sparkling as they followed his every move. Hooking one leg around the bench, he sat facing Xora, and pulled her into a tight embrace.

He held her like that for a long, long time.

Levi firmly pressed his lips against Xora's bare shoulder, then buried his face in the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his torso and held him against her, following the rise and fall of his back with his every breath.

"Tomorrow," he whispered. "I've already spoken to Armin and shitty four-eyes. They'd be okay with it if we took a break and went into town. Spend time together, just the two of us, in the afternoon."

Xora stiffened. "But... shouldn't this mission be our top priority? We've already been pushed behind by your time to recuperate, and we're not even halfway done with training yet."

"We're only human, Xora. Our time on earth is transient and much too fleeting, like a work of art that appears for only a moment, and when you blink, it's already gone. At least allow yourself to enjoy it while it lasts."

Xora was unsure of his idea, but when he raised his head and looked at her with almost a pout, she pursed her lips and sighed with the slightest nod. "I guess it really wouldn't hurt to do so."

The corner of twitched in relief, the smallest "Heh," barely leaving mouth. It felt almost completely foreign, the flood of relief that flourished through his veins - even a tiny smile threatened to reveal itself - but the muscles of his face felt stiff. It'd been much too long since he smiled. The atmosphere changed from intense and charged to docile in less than a heartbeat, smoothing over Xora's fried nerves the tiniest bit.

"I don't think I've ever been this excited for a long time," Levi whispered, leaning forward to gently brush his lips upon Xora's. Her face flushed at the sudden affection, but she didn't fight against it. She _couldn't_. "It may not look it, but I'm absolutely brimming with it. There's a bit of passion mixed in, even."

Xora's response was nothing but the raise of an eyebrow, but she twisted herself toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer for a deeper kiss. Fingertips brushing against the smooth skin of his neck and shoulders, Xora allowed herself to indulge, just this once. Levi's hands crept around her waist and constantly toyed with the waistband of her sweatpants, tantalizing yet just the slightest terrifying.

They broke once for breath, Levi creeping down to nip at her collarbone and shoulder hungrily.

"Do you... _want_ me that badly?" Xora asked in a low whisper, pulling her hands down his torso, her fingers dragging along the bumps and ridges of his well-built front until they rested right beneath his belly-button.

"When have I not?" was her lover's clipped response, but he cut off another bubbling question with a smothering kiss, pulling her so that she now sat upon his lap, torsos tightly pressed against each other. They pulled apart again to sooth their aching lungs, panting and breathing hard. But Levi was long from finished, the look in his eyes both ravenous and extraordinary. "Our break can start... now."

**[that went 0-100 reallllllllllllllllllllllllll quick lolol but i couldn't resist uwu]**


	45. Code XLV: Fleeting Solitude

" _Château de Versailles_ ," Xora murmured in approval, flipping through a tourist's pamphlet. "Quite the interesting choice." She glanced up again at the grand palace, glad they had chosen to visit in the early autumn. The air was nice and crisp, though it retained a warmth that allowed visitors to enjoy the weather sweater-less.

It was quite the view; entering through the golden gates was as if Xora had entered an entirely different century from hundreds of years ago. The palace was built extravagantly, gold upon gold decorating the arches of windows, beautifully constructed balconies, the roof lined with beautiful structures - it left Xora absolutely breathless. There seemed to be an endless number of windows; just how many people had lived upon these grounds? She couldn't wait to get inside, feeling as though she were a child entering a candy store.

"It's such a sight, wouldn't you agree?" Levi asked, jolting Xora out of her thoughts. She glanced at him expressionlessly, but her eyes practically glittered with anticipation. He almost let out a chuckle, forcefully taking her hand with a mischievous twitch of his brow. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"We shall," Xora responded, a bit hesitant at first. Levi tugged her along as they entered the palace and climbed a set of stairs that looked like they were carved from stone, the railings thick and lined with mini-columns that were sculpted identically. Arches towered above the staircase, lined with windows bordered artistically. Everything simply looked so ancient, and it was awe-striking to think of how carefully everything was preserved.

It was so mind-boggling to think about how she tread the same exact ground French kings used to walk upon.

The couple passed through several series of rooms, all set up neatly like museum exhibits, some with giant paintings of historical figures, others with glass cases of models of structures and different artifacts. Some even contained specifically-arranged furniture to replicate rooms from hundreds of years ago.

Xora gawked at just about everything she saw, pointing the smallest of details out to a rather bemused Levi. She felt overwhelmed with so much history surrounding her, but even more so by the fact that she almost felt... normal. That feeling of not being an agent, a spy, a _killer_ \- in these moments, she felt like a regular woman. An innocent citizen simply enjoying wonders the country of France had to offer. Underneath the facade of the relaxed vacation, Xora wondered if the slight pangs of bitterness that echoed through her heart were manifestations of regret.

Maybe - just _maybe_ , if only she had somehow never lost her memory, had somehow never had to go to the hospital so often for her grandmother, had somehow never lost her parents... she could've done this kind of thing any time she wanted to. She could have led a completely normal life that wouldn't have required her to put her life at stake for her career. She could have been... obliviously happy.

But had her life gone down that route, she would have never met Levi. She would have never met such kind people like those who gave their lives for her. She would have never experienced all that built up to this point in her life, and she decided resolutely that she wouldn't have given anything for it - no matter how troubling her regrets were.

"There's no point in regretting something you can't change," Xora murmured to herself.

"Did you say something?" Levi asked, once again pulling her from her brooding.

"Ah, no. I'm just wondering to myself." She urged him forward and they descended upon another flight of stairs, heading through another series of rooms. They were all decorated so lavishly, Xora didn't have anymore room in her mind to be distracted by such ridiculous remorse. She focused all of her undying attention to sharing the experience with Levi, who trailed behind - a faithful companion.

Soon, they came upon the Hall of Mirrors - such a beautiful chamber filled with exactly what it was named. One side of the room was lined with tall windows, the other dark mirrors. Centuries-old art covered the walls and arched ceiling, just about everything embellished with glistening gold. Beautiful glass chandeliers hung low, doing little to illuminate the already sun-bathed room. Podiums with figureheads, few chairs, and more light-stands lined the walls. Though the room was swarmed with tourists trying to get selfies fitted with the entire hall, the room's sophistication shone through like a star in the night sky.

Xora could tell Levi particularly loved this room; whenever she glanced over to him as they slowly shuffled through the hall, his eyes were not on her, but glided over every inch of the room. He practically absorbed the stunning view, the awe reflecting like spirals in his irises. The sight made Xora's expression soften; he just looked so unbelievably beautiful, _too_ unbelievably, that she didn't observe the room, only stared at her lover.

When they neared the end of the hall, Levi looked over, immediately flushing with a look of astonishment when he saw her absorbed expression. Even the glimmer in her eyes when his locked with hers was almost... loving.

"Wh - what?" he mumbled, averting his gaze to the ground. "Is there something on my face?"

"Not in particular," Xora responded lightly, stopping mid-stride. Levi jerked back, Xora's tug on his arm forcing him to spin and face her.

"What are you - " He was cut off by a clumsy kiss; quick, but fulfilling. Quite honestly, Levi thought his face couldn't get any redder already, but he was as bright as a tomato when Xora pulled away, almost as expressionless as ever. "Wh - what was that for?"

"I felt like it," Xora simpered with a shrug, pulling Levi forth again. "Come, Levi. The pamphlet said that now is the perfect time to see the gardens of Versailles as well. The leaves are beginning to turn their warm colors, but a lot of the flowers are still vibrantly near the ends of their bloom. I would hate to miss such a sight."

Levi was speechless as Xora swept him along out of the palace and towards the gardens, both baffled and perplexed. Even when they entered what seemed like an extremely mild hedge maze, slightly decorated with rainbows of flowers, Levi felt his cheeks burning. At the back of his mind, he knew he would be unable to deal with her as his usual stoic, stable-minded self. He was treading upon new ground, unfamiliar ones - and he didn't know whether he should be afraid or excited.

Since when had Xora gotten so bold?

\---

**[0:00, The Day After]**

"Okay, of all the ridiculous things you've done, this has got to be one of _the most_ fucking ridiculous one," Levi grumbled. His voice sounded a tad warped through Xora's comm device.

"Oh, you're only salty because you don't get to be with her," Hanji dismissed; Xora could imagine the daggers Levi could be glaring on the other end.

"Ahem, back to the mission," Eren said, "we need to focus on the matter at hand."

"It feels strange for a teenager to be telling ve grown adults of responsibility," Esfir chuckled. "Anyhow; Xora, is your camera positioned and secure?"

"Camera is positioned, secured, and rolling," Xora responded, readjusting the comm device again. Back at HQ, her teammates were watching everything Xora saw play out live-action through a camera she wore.

Xora had returned to the clearing of the traumatic night - the clearing where her comrades had been murdered, where she had nearly been murdered herself. Midnight only allowed the moonlight to cast a dim glow on the earth, but the shadows greatly outnumbered the places where the light hit. The forest looked as eerie and taunting as it did that same night; without even thinking, she could easily retrace the path Eagle had taken when they tried to dump her body in the river. But this time she was back, though alone, more determined than the last time.

 _Stronger_.

"And what the hell do you expect if she is to get injured out there?!" Levi burst, his voice filled with venom. "I seriously cannot fathom why you would make her go out in the field _alone_ , even when you know how reckless she can be."

"You really have got to start believing in Xora, Captain," Mikasa sighed, her breath causing crackling through the device. "Have some faith in her. We all are aware of how immeasurably more skilled she is than all of us when it comes to stealth and infiltration."

"This girl has a point," Vinicio agreed. "I have never in my entire career seen an agent as extraordinary as she is."

"I thank you sincerely for your kind words," Xora said, her eyes scanning her surrounding area. "But back to Eren's point, let's focus on my mission. Nothing looks out of the ordinary around here." She pulled out a metal detector from her belt and took a scan of everything in a fifteen-meter radius, but nothing strange appeared on her gadget. "Hey, Levi. Where were you when Eagle disappeared?"

"Look for the tree ***** with the straightest trunk around the edge of the clearing," Levi explained. "It should be missing a few chunks of its bark. When you find it, face the direction of the river and walk thirty-seven steps."

Xora's eyes searched the line of the forest. "Thirty-seven steps?"

"It's an approximation, Eagle disappeared probably somewhere around there." Spotting a tree with the most perpendicular trunk, Xora jogged over and examined the bark, pleased to find that a few patches of the bark were, in fact, missing. She spun on her heel and counted thirty-seven steps, rebooting the functions on her metal detector. When it finished its scan, she hit purchase on a small red dot approximately 0.89 meter in front of her.

"Bullseye," Xora whispered, kneeling. She searched with her hands around the half-dead grass patches, feeling for anything foreign in particular. Once, her fingertips brushed against something hard. Putting away the metal detector, Xora drew a switchblade from her belt and used it to carve away the dirt and grass around the hard anomaly.

Soon, Xora was able to tell that it looked something like a... button.

"Are you seeing this?" Xora asked, glancing down at the tiny camera strapped to the front of her bullet-proof vest.

"Wait, what's that next to the button?" Armin's voice came through. Xora leaned closer, her lips pursing when she recognized the extremely faint symbol engraved right on top of the button: the Stylized Lily.

"It has to be the Titans," Eren speculated. "And that Alan Clark for sure has to be involved."

"We can't quite exactly assume that this symbol belongs to the Titans," Vinicio corrected. "The Stylized Lily is used commonly all over the world. This symbol on this button may seem like it could be the Titans behind this, but it's not secure enough to be evidence that we could use against them."

"Vinicio is right," Hanji affirmed. "It's highly likely, but there's not a hundred-percent chance that whatever happens after this point is work of the Titans."

"Then I guess all that's left is to press it and see what happens," Xora concluded, her finger hovering above the silver button.

"Wait!" Levi's voice shouted, making Xora jump. "What happens if the damn thing explodes?! You can't just press any random button you come across!"

"I can't just wait patiently as highly potential clues to the demise of the Titans sits right in front of me." She made sure the lens of the camera had the perfect view of the buttons as her finger jammed it down. **[basically her telling Levi 'kiss my ass']**

As soon as she had done that, a square panel right beside the button slid open as quickly as a stretched rubber band snapping back, closing just as fast after approximately three seconds. The panel had opened to reveal pitch black, but with the moonlight, Xora could see the reflective gleam of a silver color.

"Wow," Esfir's voice breathed. "Just vhat _vas_ that?"

"It looked like some sort of tunnel to me," Mikasa noted. "But the door - panel - entrance - whatever you want to call it, looked automatic to me. Take too much time getting through and you may lose a limb or your head."

"What great words of encouragement," Eren scoffed sarcastically. "Anyway, I think you should try going through."

"Crazy bastards," Levi muttered. "What if this is some kind of trap? If this _is_ a tunnel, you could get ambushed extremely easily. I think the chances are too deadly here and you should wait for someone else to get in the field and watch your back. Our forces would be more reliable in pairs."

"Levi, when are you going to quit your whining?"  Hanji sighed. "Besides, even if I _were_ to send someone out into the field alongside Xora, my first choice would be Mikasa or Vinicio. **[basically Hanji's way of telling Levi 'kiss my ass']** Don't get your hopes up. Ahem - now, Xora. I'm siding with Eren. Be extra careful and see if you can get past that thing and get to whatever's on the other side."

"Roger," Xora clipped with a nod. She stood and placed herself right above where she saw the square open. Raising a leg, she stomped on the button with the sole of her boot and felt the surface beneath her other foot disappear, leaving her momentarily suspended in midair. Gravity pulled her through the tight square, Xora descending into darkness as the panel slammed shut again shortly after her head passed through. It was a fairly small drop, Xora estimating it to only be a few meters before her boots clanged against metal flooring. She fell into a roll and stopped in a crouch, straining her ears to listen to the silence of the tunnel.

It stayed silent and was completely dark, not to mention it felt like a hundred degrees below zero inside. Xora switched on a small flashlight built into the shoulder of her suit, the sharp light flickering on to illuminate a long, curving tunnel on both sides. She glanced up, seeing the outline of the hatch on the ceiling several meters up. It really looked like its purpose was more of an entrance than an exit.

How was Xora going to get out now?

"XX to HQ," she murmured into her comm device. She was met with nothing but a buzzed silence; alarm and dread found their homes in her gut. "Hello? Has our connection been severed?" The line continued to stay silent, Xora swearing beneath her breath as she realized that she was alone. Checking on her camera, she saw that it was still rolling, but the small blinking blue light that usually indicated it was streaming was now a red.

Gritting her teeth, Xora chose the choice to move forth and continued down the leftward side of the vast tunnel, deciding that it would be better to move than to be stationary when on enemy territory. As she trekked through the large metal underpass, she realized that beneath her feet, snaking along the tunnels looked something like tracks. Was this some kind of underground subway or transportation system for the Titans? And if it was, did it meant there were many other entrance spots like that one she had come through at various places along the tunnels?

Xora made sure to make a distinct mental note of everything she saw. Everything looked so dank and cold; there was not a single spot of life in the entire area. She didn't know how much time has passed when she finally came to a place where the tunnel split into a crossroads, but a long time had passed. Even more, a light began shining from the tunnel that curved left right across from her, the light becoming brighter and brighter along with an increasingly louder whirring of an engine.

Scurrying for the tunnel on the right, Xora barely had any time to duck into the shadows as a strange vehicle rounded the bend of the tracks, its blinding lights completely illuminating the entire passage. If she hadn't leapt for the wall of the perpendicular tunnel, she probably would've been spotted. But with the vehicle lighting the entire duct, her eyes landed on a square-like shape right in the middle of the ceiling above the crossroads. Even more, beside the square was a button, as well as a pair of handles on both of its sides. But why would that be there? The walls were too far apart to jump from and reach the hatch, and there was no other sort of means to get to it.

So how could she reach it?

Then an absolutely absurd idea bloomed in her mind.

The vehicle - which looked like a cross between a trolley and a train - didn't look as if it were moving too quickly. Xora could use it to her advantage, but there was a chance that she could be discovered. The risk seemed like little to her when her only other choice was to wander the tunnels possibly endlessly, seemingly no other way to contact the others at HQ.

Crouching right behind the corner of the wall, Xora counted the half-seconds until the vehicle finally came into view, gliding seamlessly along the tracks. She sprung from her spot and landed against the wall, shooting off again to land on top of the vehicle. Her chest tightened when she heard the awkward but distinct sounds of her boots wildly thudding against the moving vehicle. Leaping again, she stretched as hard as she could to reach the handles - but it was hard to even catch her balance in the first place.

Her hand barely brushed against the handle, but her survival instinct kicked in once more and she stretched even farther to have her other hand catch it. Gravity tugging at her body, she hung from one arm, dangling and swinging from side to side as she fought a scream. Her shoulder felt like her arm was being ripped from her socket, but she braced herself and lifted up her other arm to grab the opposite handle. Beneath her, the vehicle fortunately moved forth without stopping.  It disappeared around the next bend and all its light went with it.

Taking only a moment to steady herself, she forcibly swung herself back and forth until she felt she would have enough momentum to launch herself through the square. Sticking out her right forefinger, she pressed the button at end of a calculated interval and the panel slid open. Xora heaved her feet upwards and shot feet-first through the entrance, falling back moments later on the panel a split-second after it closed. The air temporarily left her lungs and she wheezed slightly, but pulled herself to her feet.

Xora felt the urge to sigh in relief, but she froze when she spotted a shocked woman staring at her, the area looking like the living room of someone's home. But it just wasn't any woman. She was blonde, hair loosely held back in a low bun, bright blue eyes wide with astonishment.

It was Neina Ageel.

And printed clearly across the front pocket of the beige jacket she wore were the five unmistakable letters: "Eagle."


	46. Code XLVI: The Hidden Artifact

Every cell in Xora's body was electrified. Time seemed to freeze before her very eyes; her heart leaped at the feeling of... familiarity after seeing to woman's face. Xora was the first to move, breaking the spell that froze time. She tackled the blonde woman into a nearby coat rack, slamming both of them into the ground in a series of clattering, thumping, and thrashing limbs. Neina seemed to be an extremely experienced fighter; she responded almost immediately and leapt to her feet just as Xora lunged again. This time, Neina was prepared, and shoved her elbow forward into Xora's gut as she darted forward. Xora grunted as the air was knocked from her lungs, but quickly regained her composure and knocked Neina over with a strong kick. As the blonde woman scrambled to regain her footing, Xora tackled her again and smashed her left elbow into the supposed killer's temple, temporarily incapacitating her.

Though Neina was quite skilled in her technique, Xora's brute strength overpowered her - only by a small margin, and that was precisely what allowed her victory this time. Flipping the killer onto her stomach, Xora bound her arms and legs with thick ropes and intricate knots. She sat atop of her too, a knee pressed into her shoulder blade. Pulling out a contraption that looked like a clear pistol, Xora pressed the nose to Neina's thigh and pulled the trigger, releasing a sharp needle stacked with tranquilizer into the killer's body. That ensured Xora's ability to keep her under her control.

Before doing anything else, Xora used the same gadget she'd used back at Piquet's storage compartment: the eye contact lens with scanning technology.

"Scan please," Xora whispered, hoping the connection was still working. She nearly grinned when a crisp, "Done!" resonated from the other end.

"Oh my god," a whisper fizzed through Xora's comm device. It was Armin.

"You're back," Xora sighed with relief, heaving a great breath. She wiped her brow and looked down to find that her camera (surprisingly still intact) was now reconnected. "Are you able to track my location through my comm device? Or any kind of satellite connection on me? Oh, and I've got Eagle under my jurisdiction. Well, that is until any other anomaly decides to intercept me, which hopefully won't happen."

"Yeah, we saw everything," Hanji breathed. She sounded absolutely bewildered. "How... what exactly happened? Once you went down that hatch our connection was immediately severed. When it reconnected, the first thing we saw was a woman - initially assumed as Eagle. Neina Ageel - which, we have significantly more to reveal to you once you return. Vinicio aided us in figuring a few key items out."

"I think everything has been recorded on my camera, so I shall show you everything at once. And that sounds great, let's debrief as soon as I return."

"A - alright, then. Eren and Esfir are already on their way to your location, but it'll take a little more time than anticipated. Your location is - obviously - a bit challenging to reach but you'll be out of there in no time."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." She paused, biting her lips as she contemplated her next words. Was he listening? "How's Levi?"

"He's - "

"I'm fine, thanks," Levi interjected, Xora's eyebrow twitching. "I'm still here."

Xora's body rolled with another deep breath. "How are you doing?"

"I'm perfectly well."

"Really?" Xora almost snorted, but composed herself; after all, she was still an agent in enemy territory. It wasn't a good idea to let her guard down at any point in time, despite the fact that the contact lens's scan revealed no immediate dangers.

"He's not lying," Mikasa scoffed. "The moment our reception died, I was actually quite surprised he didn't move an inch. All he did was sit and continue staring at the screen."

"If anything, Eren was the one who freaked out the most," Vinicio added with a laugh. "The moment the screen went black, he jumped from his chair and started talking like a truck going downhill with a broken brake. I think he almost cried."

"I did nothing of the sort!" Eren chipped in, his blush almost audible over the comm devices. "Vinicio, there's no need to exaggerate!"

"I second Vinicio," Armin said with a chuckle. "Really, though. Just about everyone - including me - panicked. The only one who kept their equanimity was Levi."

The thought of everyone launching into complete and utter chaos around a tranquil Levi tore a single snicker out of Xora. It was quite the sight; usually the situation went the opposite direction, with Levi exploding beside everyone else and their little concerns.

"Perhaps because I knew that Xora would be okay," Levi clipped, his words catching Xora off-guard. Well, this was definitely new. "I mean, it wouldn't hurt to have some faith in her. I know this time it was a particularly dangerous mission, with only you entering enemy territory, but there was just a... a feeling in my gut that it wouldn't end too horribly. Or badly at all. I just... believed that you would come out unscathed."

Everyone was silent for a brief moment and a low whistle shortly followed. This was an especially strange response for a man like Levi, who would usually be thrown into a fit when Xora received so much as a papercut.

"Thank you for that," Xora said, beaming. She spent the rest of her wait casually chatting with her teammates as she waited for Eren and Esfir to arrive. A clock hanging against the wall of what looked like a living room showed that it was already nearly time for the sun to rise. When the two had finally come for Xora, the sun was already peeking above the horizon. Eren and Esfir entered through a door, describing the location to be what looked like a regular house in the far suburbs.

When the two took Neina and loaded her into the vehicle, it gave Xora a short amount of time to scope out the house.

She explored the kitchen and the upper level, realizing that the house lacked an underground level. There was little furniture, only as enough that seemed necessary for one or two people. Even the cupboards and refrigerator contained little.

It was a fairly small house; Xora counted only a few bedrooms, all of which looked completely unoccupied, save for one - the smallest one. And even then, it was still bare: a twin bed with messy sheets, a single dresser and a half-open closet that was sparsely filled with dull clothing.

But there was something off about this room. It wasn't easy to pick out, but there was a feeling in Xora's gut that this wasn't just some living space. There had to be some kind of significance to it, otherwise a deadly killer wouldn't simply occupy it.

It was even more so suspicious, with the fact that the strange exit in the living room - that wasn't even hidden - was located in that house.

Xora searched through the dresser, rummaging through the drab clothing, but could find nothing really out of the ordinary. The only strange thing was that all of the clothing looked far, far too large for someone the size of Neina.

Satisfied that the dresser was void of anything of interest, Xora went to the closet and slid the folding doors completely open. From the hangers hung even more plain clothing, a good chunk of the hangers empty. The shelf on top was clear with a small layer of dust, and the floor only was occupied with an empty shoebox. Honestly, Xora began to wonder why she was wasting her time, snooping around in what may have been just a living space.

But - her eye caught onto something. A crack ran down the end of the floor of the closet. It was barely visible, but it was there - the crack connecting to several more cracks to form a small hatch at the bottom of the closet, hugging the wall on the right. Crouching down, Xora swung it open and peeked down only to see complete darkness. She adjusted her camera so its angle could clearly see the hatch and flipped on her flashlight once again. The hatch opened up to what looked like a small chamber, which was completely barren. But, strangely enough, the space did not look as ancient as one would originally presume it to be. The chamber lacked cobwebs or dust or crumbling wall sediments that would've been expected. It looked almost as if it were used as a storage space, or a place to...

...Hide things.

"Where do you think you're going?" Levi's voice suddenly boomed, causing Xora to jump. "Xora - "

"On another adventure," Xora responded sarcastically.

"Don't do anything stupid after I - " Xora had already slipped down. It was a small hatch, even smaller than the one to the tunnels, but she squeezed through and landed on shallow flooring. It would be easy to jump up and grab the ledge again if she needed to leave.

Slowly rising to her feet, Xora twisted in a circle to get a clear view of the room. It really just looked like a storage space - but the house looked just like a house, and where did that lead? An exit to underground tunnels in the goddamn living room and a secret chamber in the one occupied bedroom. Coincidence? Xora thought not.

"I've already done a scan," Armin's voice piped up. "Everything looks to be safe. I don't detect any particular dangers - which really makes me wonder."

"I agree," Mikasa jumped in. "Don't you think a serial killer - a traitor to the IE - would at least have some... I don't know, booby traps of some sort or something? Or some kind of way to prevent any intruders or enemies from getting in or something?"

"I would be expecting a thousand red lasers pointed at my forehead as well," Xora murmured, azure eyes flickering to the left corner of the room. "That is, unless those traps had the potential of destroying something extremely valuable and irreplaceable."

"What, they could harm Eagle?" Mikasa scoffed. "I doubt the Titans could really care less about keeping Eagle alive or not. She must be a useful asset to them, but not irreplaceable."

"That's not what she's talking about," Vinicio's hushed voice added. "Xora, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I don't know," the agent replied, heading straight to the corner. She spotted a part of the brick wall that looked particularly new, rather less crumbly than its neighbors. There was one brick in particular that shone glossier than the rest. Xora ran her thumb over the glossy brick, realizing then that it, in fact, was not brick. It felt like smooth glass.

The moment Xora's fingertip left the surface of the glass, the new brick seemed to almost shiver. Xora stepped back cautiously as the wall slid forth and began to slither aside with slight rumbling, showing yet another hidden chamber. This one, though, was much smaller, containing only enough space for two people to stand side by side to face a common wall.

"They didn't have any 'booby traps' because of their fear that something precious would get caught up in the chaos," Xora realized slowly, confirming her suspicions. "That precious something has been here all along."

Xora's beam of flashlight clearly illuminated the stolen artifact: the Mona Lisa.

"We've found it," Hanji breathed.

Slowly stepping toward the ancient painting, Xora's eyes absorbed every aspect of the portrait, weaving and toiling across the art. She leaned in close to gaze at the texture, the details, the colors - all of it fit together so seamlessly, like a finished 1000-piece puzzle.

"This is it," Xora nearly choked. She gulped, feeling goosebumps upon her skin. "This is really it. This is Da Vinci's Mona Lisa."

[not edited]


	47. Code XLVII: Safe and Sound

"Xooora?" Eren's muffled voice called, jolting the agent out of her stupor.

"I - I'm down here!" she yelled.

"Yeah, I know you're down somewhere, but down  _where_?"

"The closet in the one bedroom. The one with the messy bedsheets." She backed up out of the secret chamber in time to see a curious Eren poke his head down the entrance to the basement-like larger room. His jaw dropped when he spotted her in the corner of the spacious room, disappearing momentarily only to reappear feet-first. He was followed by Esfir, who looked just as astonished as the younger boy did.

"It's over here," Xora motioned to them, beckoning them to the second smaller secret room. The two flitted over and sucked in sharp gasps when their eyes, too, landed on the grand masterpiece. It was truly there, right in front of their eyes.

"It - that's  _really_  it?" Eren breathed, his viridescent eyes glittering.

"Confirmed." Xora gave him a sharp nod. "We need to move this back to HQ immediately, along with Eagle."

"Agreed," Esfir clipped, already slipping on a pair of protective gloves. She moved into the room and produced a special fabric from a case on her hip, unfolding it and draping it over the painting. Carefully, after wrapping the fabric around the edges, she gripped the painting tightly, prepared to remove it from the stand - but stopped when she remembered that traps were possible.

"It's all clear," Xora said with a single shake of her head. "Hanji scanned earlier. Besides, I don't think they would so willingly set a trap right where such a priceless piece resides. It's likely that they thought they would be able to transport it elsewhere in time before we would interfere."

"Alright, sounds good. I vill proceed to transport it back to HQ." Esfir removed the painting with extremely delicate hands, both she and Eren assisting each other to transport it above ground. Xora stayed behind for just awhile longer, stuffing herself in that small, secret room. She glanced around the stand and beneath it, scouring the walls for some kind of strange symbol or sign, but found nothing.

But she didn't really need it; their suspicions had already been confirmed. Eagle, Alan Clark and his criminal coworkers, Piquet - they were all connected to the Titans. The thought that someone associated with those monsters was still imprisoned within their HQ disgusted Xora, but she couldn't kill him quite yet. He would still be useful; Blanchet would surely come looking for him when she realized that the Mona Lisa was gone.

Once Xora felt satisfied the room contained no more treasures, she returned to the hole and gripped onto the ledge, pulling herself up and over. Once back above ground, she trekked outside to find that Eren and Esfir had safely transported the painting into their vehicle and were already boarding. The area looked to be an extremely rural neighborhood, dimly lit by a sun that was still partially covered by the horizon.

"Ready to go?" Eren called, climbing into the passenger side of the large van. Xora nodded at him and slid one of the side doors open, slipping inside before shutting it and locking it securely. Settling into large open space beside the secured Mona Lisa, she leaned back against the passenger's seat and let out a deep breath. The feeling of being in the back of this van with a precious artifact was strangely familiar; Xora could feel an exhilarating wave of nostalgia wash over her along with a tsunami of drowsiness. Almost instantly, she knew - it was like that night of O-17. Except, there were no Titans nearby (hopefully) and she knew she could trust Esfir and Eren in the case of an emergency.

And this time, if there were to be an ambush, she was ready. She wasn't a small, fearful girl anymore; this time, she knew she would fight back and protect her comrades. Defeat had to be impossible.

Xora's thoughts were ruined with a yawn. It'd been an extremely long night, and the morning was even more eventful. Once the hum of the vehicle began and they started moving, the gently swaying of the van lulled Xora into a rocky sleep.

She awoke at once when the vehicle jerked to a slow pace, veering into the underground garage built into the HQ. Rubbing her eyes, she waited until the van came to a complete stop and opened the sliding door before climbing out. At once, she was tackled with a hug.

"Oh, my dear Archangel!" Hanji cried as she continued to crush the agent in her arms. "Man oh man, we were all so worried about you! I'm so glad to see you back!"

"I was only gone a night," Xora said with a gleam of amusement in her eyes, patting the eccentric genius's head. "Really. Nothing too bad happened out on the field. In fact, it felt rather good to be back out there."

"My my, great work. This is a huge step in our mission!" Hanji finally released Xora and beamed at her once again before leaving her to help the others transport the painting safely to the stadium. Xora was left with one person in her presence; he looked at her blankly, but she could tell that there was something holding him back.

Once, Levi opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it almost immediately. Usually he'd blurt out whatever was on his mind without a care, but this time, he seemed to be calculating his actions especially carefully. Why he was doing it, Xora couldn't quite figure out.

Eventually, Levi seemed to give up and simply walked over before wrapping Xora in a warm hug. She returned the gesture graciously, closing her eyes and breathing deeply once he was in her arms.

"I don't know if this was because of our Xyrochron training," he began, "or if it was my own mind, but once you had left, I felt so empty. Empty, and extremely blank - as if I lost a limb, a part of my body. I felt so drained, and so - so desolate, even. And when you were returning, it felt like the life that I once had was refilling my body and soul, rejuvenating what was so dead and empty before. I - I can't quite explain it, but... ugh. Fuck, it leaves me so - "

"Hot and bothered?" Xora interjected, pulling back to give him an inquisitive look.

"What?!" Levi flushed and frowned, looking away with a huff. "I swear, that shitty four-eyes is rubbing off on you. It's horrifying. I was trying to be sentimental, you know."

"Yes, I know. I could feel it." Xora flashed him the smallest of mischievous smiles. "But thank you for believing in me and trusting me even when you felt like that. I'm truly touched."

"Only for you, always."

"O - oi!" came a small voice, catching Xora's attention. She looked over Levi's shoulder to find Armin rushing toward her, a large smile upon his rubicund face. Waving, Xora gave Levi one last squeeze before leaving his arms to greet the young blonde. Levi only let go so reluctantly, but the lunatic scientist was already screaming to him about something around finishing reports for Erwin. "You did it, Xora, you did it! I knew you could!"

"Thank you, Armin," Xora thanked with a pleasant smile.

Armin grabbed both of her hands and shook them excitedly. "I know you must be exhausted, and I'm sorry to keep you any longer, but I really want to introduce you to a few people! Hanji requested reinforcements a few days ago, and Erwin approved of it. They just arrived a bit ago. Well, it's a bit more than just a few, but... oh! Here." He moved aside to reveal a man with ash-blonde hair, a pair of light brown eyes meeting Xora's timidly. "This is Jean Kirchstein, Alpha rank. We trained together when we first started."

"P - pleased to meet you," Jean greeted, clearing his throat. He held out a hand for Xora to shake, who did so firmly. "It - it's an honor to finally meet the Codename XX."

"Please, call me Xora," Xora insisted, grinning warmly. Jean seemed thrown off by the gesture, but he returned the smile meekly nonetheless. "I look forward to working with you."

"Hey, hey! Don't forget about me!" a bright voice piped up, a round face with freckles appearing right over Jean's shoulder. He was slightly taller, a cheerful glint illuminating his dark eyes; his smile was even brighter. "I'm Marco Bodt! Jean's self-proclaimed best friend. Rank Alpha. Nice to meet you!" He gave Xora's hand a vigorous shake.

"Don't leave us ouuuut," a voice whined, Jean and Marco moving aside to show two more people: a short, skinny and nearly-bald man - kid? - with a pair of beady, mischievous hazel eyes, and a young woman with chestnut-colored eyes and reddish-brown hair swept into a loose ponytail. The woman was chewing on what looked like a freshly baked potato.

"Connie Springer," said the little... man? "Rank Alpha! Nice to meet'cha, Black Diamond. I mean - Crimson Slayer. I mean - what was it? Sa... sailor... angel? Something like that!"

Xora's eyes glittered as they met Connie's, whose hand was still waiting patiently to meet hers. Instead, Xora's hand went to his head, where she petted him in an almost motherly manner. "You're a precious little one, aren't you," she said quietly, the other's eyes widening as they watched her. "Continue protecting your friends and fighting, alright? It's people like you I want to care for."

Connie blinked a few times, his eyebrows knitting together. "Uh... lady? I - I'm not a kid, yanno. I'm a man! I'm even a rank Alpha!"

"Yeah, yeah, say as you like." Xora smiled at him and turned to the woman, who had by now finished her potato. "My name is Xora. Glad to meet you."

"My nyame ish Shasha," the woman responded with a loose handshake, mouth full. She chewed and swallowed her last few bites of potato. "Shorry. Nishe to meet 'oo too, ran' Alpha jush like 'em."

"It makes me so nostalgic to see all of us together again!" Armin exclaimed as Eren and Mikasa appeared by his side. "Well... not all of us, but... nonetheless, it makes me think about the days we were Epsilons and Gammas! My, we've come a long way."

" _Most_ of us have come a long way," Jean snorted with a raised eyebrow. He looked at Eren and scoffed, "Some of us haven't become an Alpha yet, even though - what, how many years has it been? Even though so many years have passed."

"Shut up, horse-face," Eren growled, glaring at the ash-blonde. "You barely made it, and you only did because I helped you pass the exam. If I hadn't, I would've been before you - "

"Well, since we're on the topic!" Hanji suddenly burst, she and Levi appearing on Xora's sides. "Armin, Eren - Erwin emailed me just the other day, I can't believe I forgot to tell you: he's bumping you guys up to the rank of Alpha! He said something about your work on our currently mission being extremely honorable and therefore makes you both qualified for the rank. Congrats!"

Everyone paused, all eyes averting to the two who stared at Hanji, then each other, in shock. Giant smiles lit up their faces and everyone began to clamor, congratulating the two - except, well, one long-faced guy.

"Jean?" came a smooth, breathy voice. It was Esfir; she and Vinicio had just returned from securing the painting in a safe location in the underground stadium. The two had also taken care of Eagle - Neina, securing her in an interrogation chamber for when she would wake. The look Esfir wore was one of both shock and relief as she ran up to the surprised teenager and crushed him in an embrace. "I cannot believe it's you!"

"H - hey, wait," Jean sputtered, holding Esfir back at an arm's length. "W - wait, Esfir - holy shit - is that  _you?_ "

"It is! To zhink we would meet again, in a time and place like zhis!" She wrapped Jean in another tight hug.

"Soooooooooo," Hanji drawled with a low whistle. "Did you two... happen to know each other?"

"I lived in France for a lot of my childhood," Esfir explained, withdrawing from Jean with a large smile. "Jean happened to be a good friend zhat lived in the neighborhood; he felt just like a little brozher to me. He moved away eventually, and I did too, to Russia."

"And to imagine that we both became a part of the Iridescent Empire," Jean laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's so nice to see you again."

"You've really grown!" Esfier lightly tapped her fist on Jean's head of hair. "Zhough, not much; I'm still taller."

As the two old friends continued to reconnect, the others looked at each other awkwardly, proceeding to slowly make their way out of the garage. It had definitely been an extremely long night for some; Hanji and Armin were already working on rearranging their plans. There would be no need to travel all the way to Antarctica anymore with the fact that they had already obtained both the painting and supposed killer, but the possibility of needing to go there was not completely gone quite yet. Many more unanswered questions remained, but with this progress they had eliminated quite a few.

When the group reached the main hallway, they split; the majority went to the data room to finish debriefing for the new agents. Before Xora left them, she gave Armin all of her gear, including the camera and gadgets on her belt. Then Xora headed back to her room, and Levi insistently followed her. She definitely did feel exhausted, both physically and mentally, but her nerves were still jumping. For some strange reason, since the moment she laid her eyes on Neina, she'd felt this strange sense of familiarity. Though she swore to herself many times that she'd never seen this woman before, her brain kept telling her that she had, once before. From where or when exactly, she couldn't figure out, but that feeling remained.

Once in her room, she kicked off her boots, too tired to care for where they landed. Exhaling deeply, Xora plopped onto her bedside, stretching her arms. "Come here," she said to Levi, who did so silently. At once, Xora wrapped her arms around him tightly, burying her face into his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Levi asked, holding her dearly.

"Just recharging," Xora responded lightly, breathing in Levi's scent. She felt at such ease when she was alone with him, his touch alone smoothing out her fried nerves. "It's been a really,  _really_  long and lonely night."

"It really has." Levi leaned down to softly press his lips against Xora's brow, brushing away a loose strand of her hair with his fingers. "But bottom line is, I'm just glad you're back safe and sound."


	48. Code XLVIII: Home

The rest of the eventful day was spent debriefing the newest agents; Xora refused to rest and offered a generous hand to help with getting to know the agents. Jean and Eren had an unspoken rivalry that was constantly getting between the matters at hand; luckily, Marco and Mikasa always knew how to stop it. Marco was very pleasant to have around, with his friendly demeanor. Xora took to him quite nicely.

Connie, on the other hand, was a tad thick-skulled - but regardless, he was an optimistic team member that always seemed to provide a few laughs. His long-time friend, Sasha, was usually complaining about her hunger, but she was extremely knowledgeable. Her physical capabilities were astounding, as well; they nearly rivaled Mikasa and Xora's abilities. Not only that, whenever Xora would mention something around food to her teammates, Sasha would perk up like an animal on alert; her instincts were absolutely astounding.

During Hanji's recounting of the entire experience up until the new agents' arrivals, they were more than astonished to hear of the astronomical feats Xora had performed. Survived an attack from the Titans at such a young age, survived  several bullets, located and obliterated a Titan Headquarter, found and successfully captured the killer - what  _hadn't_  this woman already done? 

"I feel like I'll never live up to that," Marco commented with a chuckle once Hanji had finished. "Xora, you... I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. It's unimaginable to think of all the pain you had to go through, but -  _wow_... seriously, are you even human?"

"I am  _only_  human," was Xora's simple response. But the reply in itself still sent shivers down her teammates' spines.

The next morning, the entire team woke up early. Surprisingly, Armin, Mikasa, and Marco were cooking up a large breakfast in celebration of welcome for the new agents. Levi - even more surprisingly - was leading all of them, instructing Mikasa on how to prepare the coffee, helping Marco cut the strawberries, making sure Armin set the timer for the pastries in the oven. They worked through even more as a team, and when Sasha awoke, she jumped in and nearly took over the entire force. A few times she almost began chowing down on the food she was making, but Levi was always there to stop anything that would result catastrophically. It was truly a sight to behold.

Once everyone had been seated for breakfast - with Hanji being the last to arrive, still half-asleep - they began their feast. It was a wonderful breakfast, with freshly-made croissants, applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon, mixed berries doused in vanilla cream, simple toast with blackberry jam, traditional granola cereals, granola cookies, and  _café au lait_. Served buffet-style, everyone picked and chose what they found most delectable.

"But what about eggs and bacon and sausage and orange juice?" Connie had asked at one point, mid-chew. "This feels so incomplete without some pancakes, too!"

"It's only right to have French breakfast in France," Jean mumbled in reply with a shrug, happily nibbling on a croissant.

"You know what they say," Marco added, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do!"

For some reason, Connie found the quote funny, and laughed to the point where his coffee began coming out of his nose. The worried Armin beside Connie helped clean his mess, but he'd already ruined the front of his shirt. Eren laughed at Connie's failure until coffee came out of his nose as well, and that was when Mikasa came to help him. Jean guffawed at Eren, but fortunately enough, he hadn't even touched his coffee yet. Hanji's laughter rang through the dining hall as well, whereas Vinicio and Esfir chuckled softly to themselves. The others joined in on the ridiculousness eventually.

Finding the entire event rather peculiar, Xora watched intently. Connie's initial reaction had startled her, but from then on she felt more... amused. Sipping her own coffee quietly, she nudged her elbow into Levi's rib - who was looking rather disgusted by what he would call more of an ordeal. He looked at her with a raised brow and leaned over, taking her fork in hand and jabbing a cream-covered strawberry on her plate. Raising it to her lips, he waited as Xora's gaze traded between it and Levi's eyes.

Then, she tentatively opened her mouth, and Levi fed her the strawberry. The corner of his lip twitched and he set the fork down, letting out a small "ha." When the two brought their attention back to the table, the entire team was watching with mouths agape.

"So... LeRa?" Connie coughed, glancing around nervously. "No... XoVi? Ugh, they both sound so weird... how long has this been a thing?"

"For awhile now," Hanji answered, "but I don't think that, between them, I've ever witnessed something so..."

"Cute," Vinico finished with a sure nod.

"Uh... congratulations?" Marco said with a nervous chuckle.

"P - please ignore us," Xora insisted, feeling her cheeks burn. "We were just having an innocent interaction, really. I - in the future I will try to maintain a professional demeanor, I apologize for my - "

"No!" Sasha cried, jumping up from her chair. All eyes drew to her and she waved her hands sheepishly. "I - I mean, it's cute! It's goddamn  _cute_! I thrive off this kind of stuff. Go at it like bunnies, you two."

"Sasha!" Eren cried indignantly.

"What? Read between the lines, Eren."

" _Read between the lines!_ " Jean repeated, bursting into laughter once again. "Did she actually just say that after telling them to - to what? Go at it like bunnies?!" Everyone else fell into a fit of laughter once again, with Sasha still trying to justify herself. The two at subject both looked at each other and blushed furiously; Xora felt as if she were going to melt, but underneath the table, Levi found her hand and intertwined their fingers in comfort.

"Quite the talkative group we have here," Xora commented amongst the uproar.

"It's annoying," Levi sighed, leaning back more on his chair.

"On the contrary, I quite like it. I like it a lot, actually. It feels like... like home."

"Home?" Levi looked at Xora, his eyebrow twitching. Neither of the two ever truly had a home, and he knew it - he understood Xora's lack of a home. "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't absolutely know what I mean, but if I had to guess, I would say this is what it must feel like to have a home."

Levi's eyes widened as he watched Xora, who was still watching the others and their excited clamor. His gaze softened and he gave her hand a squeeze, turning to look at the others as well. "Yeah... home."

\---

**[Much, much later...]**

"How'd it go?" Xora asked breathlessly.

"Not as well as I wish," Levi replied with a sigh, untying the knot of his bloody apron. He and Hanji had just emerged from the room of interrogation. Tossing the apron onto a nearby rack, he also removed his gloves and set down a few strange-looking metal tools. "It seems the Titans really know how to make sure their underlings keep their mouths shut."

"I can't believe we went through  _all_  of my toys and got nothing out of Eagle," Hanji groaned, slamming a fist against the rack. "I need to tell Erwin to send me some new ones."

"I could give it a go," Xora offered quietly, placing a hand on Hanji's shoulder. "The last time I was with Piquet, I think I was quite successful."

Hanji turned and looked at her with a relieved smile. "Would you? That would be great, actually. I don't know why I didn't ask you first. Go right on in."

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" Levi interjected, grabbing hold of Xora's wrist when she reached for the blank clipboard.

"That, I can't tell you," Xora deadpanned, gently pulling Levi's hand off of her wrist. "But what I can tell you is that you need not worry. I'll have this taken care of - after all, I have quite a few things I need to ask, myself..."

Grabbing the clipboard, Xora flashed Levi one more reassuring look before disappearing into the interrogation room. It was shut firmly and there was the click of the lock from the other side. The captain shot Hanji a bothered look and furrowed his brows deeply, plopping into a chair beside the room's entrance rather heavily.

"...You know," Hanji spoke, still cleaning her silver tools, "I get that you've gone through a lot with our precious Arch - Xora, and that your only intention is to protect her with your life - but come on, shortie. Where are your manners? We both know she is far more capable of doing things we could never even imagine performing. Sometimes, I wonder if she's even human. I know you're taking your sweet time to get there, but you need to start truly believing in her - with all of your heart. With your entire being. Right now. Because we both know that if she needs anything in this world, anything at all, it is you and your faith."

There was a sustained silence between the two for a few intense minutes as Levi contemplated Hanji's words. Surprisingly, there was no quick comeback as he would usually shoot in return. Instead, what came was a question: "Why are you telling me this?"

And then it was Hanji's turn to think. She finished shining the last of her tools before she finalized an answer. "It may sound selfish, but I didn't say it entirely for her sake, nor did I say it for yours. Rather, I said it for our comrades, our Empire - no. I said it for the sake of the entire world, Levi. Although we seem so tiny and so insignificant, the actions we take right now, in this instant, could result in the rise or fall of the Titans - and the prior would be more than absolutely catastrophic. And - I've said it a million times before - I firmly believe that Xora will be a key player in that. So we, as her foundation -  _you_ , who serves as her very footing - must remain unwavering. Do you get what I'm saying, shortie?"

Levi didn't speak again, but he did nod after a few moments. "You know, sometimes you say the dumbest things, with all that shit that comes out of your mouth. But you also say some shit that actually make some sense."

The scientist gave a light chuckle as she hung her bloodstained apron. "C'mon, li'l Levi. Cut me some slack. Don't act like you don't shit out of your mouth, too!"

Levi opened his mouth to retort, but the interrogation room's door flung open and cut him off. He sprung from his seat just as Xora briskly stomped out. She slammed the clipboard on the table with the tools, the clattering so loud it jolted both Levi and Hanji.

"Xora - " Levi started, but the agent had already stormed off. She didn't turn back once as she headed off. The corporal met the scientist's gaze with wide eyes.

"Well,  _that_  was quick," Hanji murmured, slowly taking the clipboard into her hands. "Last time, she took so much longer. What happened in there...?" The writing on the paper was easily legible at first, but as the words and scrawled notes continued, the strokes became increasingly wilder. The indents the pen had made as it marked the page were significantly deeper as well.

"Well?" Levi asked, clearing his throat impatiently. "What the hell did she get out of that killer?"

"It just starts off with a couple of notes about insignificant details... I don't see much here. Oh, wait - 'Neina was hired by Alan to dispatch top competitors for the painting, but he had mentioned plans to steal it regardless of competition.'" Hanji's voice trailed off as her eyes flitted across the paper, continuously becoming wider. She showed an expression of utter astonishment as she dropped the clipboard onto the tray of tools. Her hands were trembling.

"What? What the hell is it, shitty four-eyes?" Levi snatched the clipboard and began to read the few remaining notes. When he reached the end, only then did he understand why Xora had practically ran from the two. He shakily placed the clipboard back down and fell to his knees, grasping onto the edge of the table for support.

It couldn't be true.

" _Neina was not present the night of the first attempt to apprehend and capture Eagle. Neina did not kill Petra, Eld, Gunther, or Oluo. Neina's denial of murdering the four and injuring Xora is confirmed true._  
 _Conclusion: there are two Eagles."_


	49. Code IL: Suffocating

"That should do it," Jean grunted in satisfaction. He finished tying his wraps around his knuckles and grabbed a pair of boxing gloves from the rack, heading for the sparring room. A simple tune flowed from his whistling, but it was cut short when he reached the room. Marco was standing in front of the door, frozen, peeking into the window of it.

"Marco?" he called out, cocking his head inquisitively. The said person jumped and whipped around in surprise, heaving a deep breath when he realized it was simply his friend.

"Jean," Marco sighed, straightening. He was holding his own pair of gloves as well. "Don't startle me like that."

"What're you doing?"

"I looked weird, huh?" Marco chuckled sheepishly, stepping aside. "Why don't you look for yourself? The sight is pretty amazing."

Narrowing his eyes, Jean stepped forward and peered through the small window. His eyes widened when he saw Xora inside.

She wasn't using any of the punching bags, but she was definitely giving it her all on a dummy. Her movements were extremely fast and precise; Jean could barely follow her flying limbs. But by the way she was smashing her legs and hands into the dummy, he could clearly see that she was unleashing a very suppressed rage. With a jumping sidekick, she tossed the dummy aside with a loud  _bang_. Not a moment later, she had already started on the next still-standing dummy, laying waste to its kind.

"Pretty badass, don't you think?" Marco noted, pulling Jean's attention back.

"Definitely," Jean breathed, biting his lower lip. "But does something seem a bit... off, to you? I mean, we literally just met the woman so I can't act like I know her all that well, but it seems like - like, I don't know - like she's mad."

"Oh, I know what you mean. She's so tense." Marco glanced through the mirror once more. "She definitely wasn't that way this morning, and I almost can't believe she's the same woman as that shy one at breakfast. I feel as if she isn't the kind of person who loses her cool that easily. I wonder what ever could've made her so heated?"

The two cut their conversation short when they witnessed Xora send the dummy flying with a simple, straightforward punch. Their jaws had dropped, meeting each other's glances again. The woman stopped by now; she stood, drenched in sweat, her chest heaving. The wraps around her knuckles were fraying at the edges; they were sloppy and looked like they'd been hastily put on.

Wiping away the sweat on her top lip, she turned to the door and headed straight to it. On the other side, Jean and Marco momentarily panicked, freezing mid-panic when Xora opened the door. She stood, staring at them silently for a brief second, using one hand to slide back her bangs and hold them up.

"Hello," she panted. "I don't know exactly how much you saw through that puny little window, but I hope you at least got a little kick out of it. No pun intended." Taking a small towel from a rack right beside the door, she wiped the sweat from her face and hung the towel around her neck.

Though he was stunned for a few moments, Marco was the first to break the next awkward silence. "Are... are you okay?" Jean instantly shot him a frown and a warning glare.

"No." Xora's response slightly surprised the two boys. She wiped her face and neck with the towel and sighed. "It may not look like it, but I am brimming with anger. I want to break something quite badly... so badly that it scares even me."

"M - may I ask why?" Marco asked, not even bothering to mask the curiosity in his voice. Jean shot him another look of disbelief, to which the freckled boy just shrugged in a panicked manner.

"You'll find out soon enough. I'm sure Levi and Hanji will break the news tonight, if not sooner."

"What kind of news?"

Xora gave no reply and briskly left the two in their confusion. They met each other's gazes and traded shrugs, mumbling quietly to themselves about something along the lines of "not wanting to fuck with that."

\---

**[Later that evening...]**

"It was pretty scary," Jean finished, concluding his recollection of his encounter with Xora to Connie and Sasha. "I don't think I've ever experienced that kind of energy practically emanating from a person before. Like... like walking into a room with all of the pressure suddenly sucked out of it."

"Whoaaa!" Connie cried in awe, his jaw practically hitting the ground. "You're serious?! I mean I knew this angel lady was pretty badass, but I didn't know she was  _that_  badass!"

"I don't ever want to make her angry," Sasha murmured, munching on a small bag of fruit snacks. "I mean, I feel like it would take a lot to make her angry so I don't really have a chance of doing that, but I still don't wanna mess with her." Their conversation had to be cut short with Hanji's dramatic announcement.

"Come one, come all!" she enunciated to the agents scattered throughout the data room. "We have much to discuss tonight!"

They gathered round the conference table in the center of the large room. Everyone, that is, except for Xora. She kept to the shadows of the room, leaning with her back against the wall, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest. Not a single person - not even Levi - wanted to coax her out of her spot. Throughout that entire day, the woman had been deathly quiet, and her vexed expression practically frightened away anyone who came near her.

The older members of the agents there recognized the look she wore; it was almost indistinguishable from the one she wore when Levi had been kidnapped. Her face was indeed almost as expressionless as usual, but her eyes raged with powerful storms - an unknown anger. The look brought even Esfir and Vinicio unease if they ever locked eyes with her.

"I have a lot of things to tell you all, ranging from good, to bad, to worse," Hanji said with a sigh, resting her hands on the table. "Which do you all want to start with?"

"The worst," Eren responded first. "I'd rather face the brunt of whatever's to come first. The good news feels more great after all the bad." There were no objections to his proposal and Hanji continued.

"Alright, well, to start... we have Eagle. Just, not the right Eagle. To put it one way." The statement created a ripple of shock through the agents. "Through Xora's quite literally immeasurable techniques when it comes to interrogation, we've come to the conclusion that the Eagle we have in custody is not the person who killed our teammates on that wretched mission. The Eagle we have is, in the most basic terms, a hired mercenary who was only taking care of competitors for the Mona Lisa. She originally worked underneath the Empire, but eventually faked her death to avoid her true mission being found: she was actually a double spy for the Titans. Even the name, Neina - it is simply an alias, an anagram, for her real name: Annie. If you switch around the letters for her surname, Ageel, you get Eagle. But that is most definitely not her true surname; that we have yet to figure out."

"But how could this be possible?!" Mikasa suddenly cut in, her eyebrows tightly knitted. Her demeanor was rather collected, but Armin and Eren could hear the restraint in her voice. "Are you saying that this entire time, we've been chasing the wrong killer? That the person who murdered the Special Operations squad is still on the loose?"

"Yes," a cold voice cut in. Xora appeared beside Hanji and sent everyone into a momentary panic. "That's exactly it. The harsh reality is, this little victory of ours was simply a fluke. It means I... I failed in avenging them. The moment my eyes laid on this Eagle, I had thought, this was my chance to right my wrongs. I thought this was my chance to avenge those whose lives were taken so quickly, and I rejoiced. I... I  _believed_. But in the end, I was wrong. My path of retribution has not yet come to an end." Her expression suddenly turned sour and she turned her head away, but not before everyone clearly saw the angry tears that laced her sapphire irises.

"The plan is to keep Eagle in our custody until we can get our hands on the other killer, who we have chosen to dub, 'Omega,'" Hanji continued. "Which leads to the bad news. Although at this point, now that I think about it, it may be on par with our 'worse' news. Ah, I would like Armin to explain this plan. He tells stories a lot better than I do."

"Oh - thank you," Armin said with a nod before turning to look at the rest of his teammates. "We are going to resume the operation in Antarctica - but our procedure will change. Once confirmed of the Titans' presence on the continent, rather than infiltrate, we are going to ambush them. Afterwards we will flank them, then get inside and search for Omega in their weakened state."

"Wait, wait, wait," Vinicio interjected, holding up a hand almost in indignance. "A full-scale attack? Won't we be practically waging war against the Titans if we do that? I know the Empire has definitely clashed against the Titans on many levels, but to charge head-on like this... are you sure?"

"I haven't gotten to the bad news, yet." Armin looked at the others gravely, momentarily flickering his gaze over to Levi. The corporal merely blinked expressionlessly. "...Our facility in South Africa was recently attacked by the Titans." His explanation elicited gasps from the agents. They exchanged nervous glances; Eren's hands balled into tight fists and he bit down harshly on his lip.

"The facility was bombed, then nearly gunned down. The agents there were able to hold down the location and eventually damaged the Titans' driving force enough to get them to retreat. But in the process, many of our lives were lost. The survivors said that a majority of those who weren't caught in either the explosion or gun assault were - were eaten alive. The Empire has taken a huge hit - and that is precisely the reason why Commander Erwin has already given the okay on this plan. This will be our counterattack; reinforcements are already in the waiting for us to give the signal. All the more reason to search for Omega when our comrades from the Special Operations squad have died by their hands."

"Which in turn leads to our good news!" Hanji jumped in with a nervous chuckle in attempt to lighten the mood. No one followed along. "After some  _very_ thorough testing, we have been able to tie most of the loose ends on the Xyrochron and how it works. Firstly - and this is new to Xora and Levi, as well - the Xyrochron is, in most basic terms, a brain link. What this brain link allows is for the mental capabilities of two people for one person - which in turn leads to physical capabilities beyond that as well. Let me explain.

"If you take a look at the human body, you can clearly tell that it is built for some pretty intense measures - more than what we are aware of now. What this brain link allows is - in one situation - for one person to exceed the capabilities they wouldn't otherwise be able to achieve. For example - and this would be ideal - take a look at Xora." All eyes went to the said woman and she looked at Hanji curiously. "I think it is more than clear to see that she is extremely well-built. What this brain link could do is allow Levi to loosen these 'limits' that her brain has in place. These limits are made by the brain to avoid injury and death - but they aren't truly  _limits_. With the mental strength of two people, it would be possible to loosen, move, and maybe almost completely shift these limits. The lack of limits allows for expanded, improved, and increased ability. Do you follow?

"What I'm trying to say is that someone like Xora has physical capabilities with far more potential than what we've seen now. The mental link between the two would allow Levi to loosen Xora's limits and facilitate them to ensure that they would not completely break. This, in turn, allows Xora to become, in short, a superhuman. She will be able to move, fight, and think on a completely different level. She will be faster, stronger - almost  _invincible_. And, of course, the same could happen vice versa. Xora would be capable of facilitating Levi's 'limits' as well."

"So... they can't use it at the same time?" Marco piped up. "One person will facilitate the other acting, but then doesn't it mean the one who does the facilitating will be completely vulnerable?"

"While it is true that the person facilitating must be protected while the link is one-way active, the brain link can be crossed simultaneously, actually. So yes, they can facilitate each other and act as two upgraded human beings. But when that is done, the potential isn't nearly taken advantage of, because both people would have their attentions split on both acting and facilitating. This method would only utilize 30% of both persons' potentials. The lack of complete and concentrated focus on facilitating wouldn't give both complete control on the limits. What would be ideal would be such flexible and skillful control of the limits that we could stretch the limit until near breaking point, where potential is used to its maximum."

"...And vhat if zhe facilitator fails?" a small voice piped up. It was Esfir. "Vhat if zhe facilitator happens to die or become injured during zhe connection? Or vhat if zhey simply lose control?"

" _That_ would be quite disastrous," Hanji responded in a low voice, dropping her gaze to the table. "In a situation like that, I'm still not entirely sure what would happen. But what is most likely to occur is simply a physical then mental deterioration of the person who is acting. Because their limits are not only pushed away from their 'safe' positions; they are so close to their breaking point, they would simply disintegrate. The human body has so much more potential than what we've seen in history, but it can still only do so much.

"The person acting would breach their own capabilities and overwork their body to the point of no return. Once the body is overworked and unable to function, the mind would then deteriorate as well; the limits that once maintained equilibrium are gone. And, well... that just means bad news. It would most likely end in death, or if the actor is extremely lucky, they will survive. And even if they do, I can almost guarantee they will live the rest of their short life in a vegetative state."

"So... long story short, there's no room for fuck ups?" Levi finally spoke. "We fuck up once and we probably die?"

Hanji caught his eyes painfully and mustered a weak smile. "...Yep, just about."


	50. Code L: To No Avail

After wrapping up her announcements, Hanji dismissed the agents to their rooms. She knew that it was an immense amount of morbid information, and that the agents would need time to comprehend the circumstances. No one objected to her ruling.

No one except, of course, except the Sanctioned Archangel. Instead of immediately returning to her room like everyone else, she went to the exercise room. Levi had spotted her slipping in as everyone had been heading off. Initially, he'd wanted to intervene and insist that she get some sleep, but he knew that it would have been futile.

He returned to his room and planned on getting some rest - something he rarely had the time to do with his constant pile of work. Crawling into bed with nothing on but a pair of sweatpants, he nestled deeply into the fluffy pillows and covers, prepared for a good rest. But that night, no matter how much he tossed and turned in his bed, he couldn't seem to find his way into slumber. His nerves were buzzed with the impending war, as well as the new information on the Xyrochron. It would be a straight lie if he had said that he wasn't afraid something was going to go wrong with the brain link... but he had no choice.

He had to believe that he was making the right choice without regret. In the past, he had learned gruelingly that some sacrifices were absolutely necessary for the best resolution - even if the resolution itself was grim.

The train of thought he was following crashed when the felt the muffled vibrations of a loud  _bang_. Immediately, he knew the sound; it was the sound of the dead-lift being dropped onto the ground. Rolling over, Levi glanced at the clock on his nightstand and squinted to read the neon numbers.  _2:09 AM,_ it read.

"What the hell?" he groaned quietly, sitting up. Swinging his feet over the edge of his bed, he slipped out of his room. Heading straight down the stairs into the lobby and down the main hall, he was silent as he approached the ajar door. He peered inside to see Xora, drenched in sweat, her hair tied back into a small ponytail. Several strands of hair were falling loose.

The woman donned only shorts and her sports bra, but they were drenched in sweat. In fact, her entire body was shiny with perspiration. Levi watched in silent awe as she added on a couple of weights to the dead-lift before tightly wrapping her hands around the bar and heaving it upwards. Her body trembled vehemently as she attempted to raise it above her head; but even with the thick muscles that were carved into her skin, Levi could tell that it was too much for her.

Before Xora could properly lift the heavy bar, she let out a small grunt and released it, letting it plummet to the ground with a sharp  _bang_! She collapsed to the ground as well, her chest heaving, the trembles still rippling through her skin. Once she attempted to rise to her feet, but her knees gave out, and she stayed on the ground. At this point, she had clearly pushed herself too far.

"That's enough!" Levi cried, barging into the room. Xora's head whipped around; she was shocked to see him, more so because he was still half-naked. He rushed over and crouched beside her, one hand on her shoulder. "You need to stop and get some rest, you reckless fool."

"There's not enough time for that," Xora argued, turning her face away. Underneath Levi's touch, he could feel that she was most definitely still shaking. "Leave me be. I need to train for this... even if I have to do it alone."

"I don't care if you want to be alone or not. You do realize that you're only going to be able to break your limits if the Xyrochron prototype is successful, right? Pushing yourself like this now will do nothing. You need rest."

" _I don't need any rest_!" Xora suddenly yelled. She roughly shook Levi's hand off of her shoulder and tried to stand, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees once again. "Dammit... dammit! Why?! Just a little more!"

"Stop!" Levi cried, attempting to pull Xora back, but she harshly pushed him off of her once again, farther away this time. She staggered to her feet and wrapped her fingers around the bar of the dead-lift, her brows tightly knitted, sweat dotting her forehead. With her body tightly coiled like a spring, she heaved it up once again, at shoulder-height. Once she lost her balance, but she caught herself and puffed in a large breath to push the bar up.

But Xora's efforts were truly futile. She quivered when the bar rose to her chin height; it was too much. With an enraged cry, she pushed the bar off and it fell to the floor with another earth-shattering  _bang_. Xora stood, silent. Then she crumpled to her knees, staring at the bar with furious disappointment.

"Why?" she whispered, biting her lower lip. A jolt was sent through Levi when he saw a tear trickle from the corner of Xora's eye. She hunched over and slammed her fists over and over into the floor with broken frustration. "I have to... I  _need_  to get stronger. I must! But no matter what I do, I'm the same, I - I'm weak. I must avenge them. I must protect them. But I failed, I  _failed_ , dammit! I can't change anything! Dammit! God  _dammit_!"

Unable to speak, Levi simply knelt beside the crushed woman and helped her upright before wiping at her cheeks with the backs of his hands. But no matter how much he did, the tears still fell. It hurt his heart to see her oceanic irises glimmer with so many tears and so much pain. Eventually, he stopped and instead held her hands in silence.

"H - how can I expect to protect you if I can't even protect  _them_?" Xora muttered, shaking her head with pursed lips. "And I wouldn't even be able to avenge you properly..."

"I don't need protection," Levi scoffed. "There won't be any need to avenge me, you fool."

"But I can't lose any more of my comrades. I can't lose anyone. I can't lose  _you,_  of all people." Xora hung her head, her wet eyes glued to the floor between them. "Oh, please... not you. If I don't work hard now, everyone will have to pay for it. I must become strong now, before everything I love turns to dust."

Levi looked at Xora for a contemplative moment before heaving a large sigh. "I hope you realize that you are not as alone as you think you are. We are all agents as well, you know, and we've trained for missions like these for years on end. We are capable of fighting, too, and you aren't the only one who wants to protect everyone around you. Don't take it upon yourself to blame yourself for things that are completely out of your fault - like being unable to save everybody. Sometimes the reality is that people have to die, and there's truly nothing you can do about it. In the end, nothing is absolutely your fault. Let the rest of us protect you for once, will you?"

The words seemed to hit Xora like a brick wall; she froze and took some time to swallow Levi's words, a strange new light burying itself within her eyes. With a small but solemn nod, she sniffed and scrubbed her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

"You're right," she whispered. "This is a war I can't fight alone. I need everybody. I need you, Levi."

"Of course you do," he responded with a sarcastic humor, but he couldn't suppress a rush of relief. He knew Xora had been wallowing in a pool of self-hatred since she'd figured out she hadn't captured the right killer; but he didn't know it was so severe that she would think to bring herself to the point of almost breaking herself.

With a sigh that seemed to suck the thickness out of the air, Levi abruptly pulled Xora against him, tightly wrapping his arms around her. They stayed that way for a long time; although Xora was sticky with sweat and covered in her own tears, Levi didn't release his hold for a single moment.

"Thank you," Levi mumbled into the skin of her shoulder. "For having a heart of gold and for caring for your comrades to such magnitudes. I don't think there's anyone on the face of the planet who values my life as much as you do. And I see that. But I value yours too, and I hope you realize that. Please understand."

There was no response from Xora. She instead clung tightly to Levi, as if the world were to fall apart at any moment. When they parted, Levi helped Xora stand. Her legs nearly gave out, but Levi hooked an arm behind her to keep her steady and pressed against him. Initially, she tried to lean away from him and walk on her own, but it was clear that she wasn't capable of that in her current state.

"I know you're no damsel in distress," Levi said exasperatedly, tightening his hold on Xora. "But seriously, you're going to fall if you don't hold onto me at least a little bit." She looked at him warily before letting out a small chuckle, again taking a hold on his arm.

With Levi's help and an awkward hobble, Xora made her way to the upper level, freezing and pulling Levi back once they reached her room. At first he looked at her worriedly, but the rosy color of her cheeks spoke for her.

"C - could I stay with you, tonight?" she mumbled. She wouldn't dare to meet Levi's eyes, and he barely suppressed a grin. Without eliciting a response, the two entered the corporal's dark room. Once there, he eased Xora onto the bed and tossed her a towel, allowing her to wipe down her sweat-coated body. Though she desired to shower and rid herself of the dampness, she lacked the energy to do so. Rolling onto her side in the large bed, she grabbed the sheets and snuggled deeply into the crevices. They smelled of Levi's muted cleanliness.

He joined her moments later and settled into the pillows, laying flat on his back. From there he could feel fatigue begin to settle into his body, but small shuffling stirred him once more. Beside him, Xora had curled up against his side, one of her hands laying across his stomach. He smiled in the darkness and draped an arm around Xora's shoulder, pressing her closer to him. She moved and laid her head upon his shoulder, where he could feel her light breaths move across his chest.

While they basked in the cool of the dead of night, there was a strange tranquility that dangled in the air. Once, Xora pressed her lips against the bare skin of Levi's collarbone, softly and tenderly. His hand unconsciously went to her hair, where his fingers slowly and gently combed through her soft strands. 

Within no time at all, he felt her breath become slow and steady, more rhythmic, reflecting against his warm skin. The sensation of having her beside him, living and breathing, was something he realized he had been lacking lately. Relishing every moment of it, in these deep hours of the night where the world lay paralyzed, sleeping, was a treasure. 

Though the fragile world seemed it would collapse, in this moment Levi felt something he hadn't in a long time: peace. In the morning he would have to wake and face the dire challenges that daunted him, but that was still yet to come. The crumbling world could -  _must_  - still be saved, even if in the end, it may cost things dear to him.

Allowing a breath to rumble through his chest, Levi curled onto his side and laid an arm around Xora, holding her close. It was only in moments like these where he felt he could protect her, even in the slightest. If she were awake, she would most definitely refuse that protection. The thought made the corner of Levi's lip curl. He nuzzled into Xora's hair and firmly shut his eyes, willing his body to rest, for once.

And, after only a few more moments of the encounter with tranquility, Levi fell into a deep slumber.


End file.
